Noted Christmas-hater Melania Trump will be forced to pretend she cares about holiday decor one last time. On Monday, a “newly blonde” Melania, as the New York Post put it, “celebrated the arrival of the annual White House Christmas tree,” which means we will soon see what fresh horror she decided to turn her soon-to-be former abode into for the winter holidays.
In 2018, Melania gave us Christmas in Hell, and last year, an all-white “exhibit of patriotism.” This year, may I suggest a funereal theme? After all, as CNN reported, even in the midst of a rapidly worsening pandemic in which the CDC and the Surgeon General Jerome Adams are beseeching all of us to avoid large indoor gatherings, Melania is still forging ahead with holiday parties:
Invitations for White House holiday parties have started to arrive on Capitol Hill and to Republican donors, two people who have received them said. The sources said the invitations seemed like any other year, with no mention of coronavirus precautions. And last week, first lady Melania Trump finalized guest lists for parties with friends, family and staff, which will be held over multiple evenings in mid-December.
The parties are yet another example of those in the White House shirking the administration’s own best practices, which has led to multiple outbreaks over the past few months and concerns it could happen again.
According to Melania’s chief of staff Stephanie Grisham, the White House will require people to wear masks and will “encourage” social distancing, though I find that hard to believe! “Attending the parties will be a very personal choice. It is a longstanding tradition for people to visit and enjoy the cheer and iconic decor of the annual White House Christmas celebrations,” Grisham told CNN.
Also iconic? Potentially killing people as one of your final acts as First Lady!
Contrary to what the New York Times reported over the weekend, President-Elect Joe Biden agrees with the strategy of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to hold out for a more robust covid-19 relief bill, rather than negotiate with Republicans for a smaller and less effective package.
From HuffPost:
For months, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have pushed for a large stimulus bill they say is needed to jump-start the economy and provide additional relief to millions of Americans suffering amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The President-elect fully supports the Speaker and Leader in their negotiations,” Biden transition spokesman Andrew Bates told HuffPost when asked about the Times story on Monday.
Nearly 12 million people are set to lose federal unemployment benefits next month unless lawmakers agree to a deal extending relief measures they passed early in the pandemic. A moratorium on evictions, student debt forbearance and tax breaks are also at risk of expiring.
Democrats have been pushing for a multitrillion-dollar package of new relief while Republicans remain flatly opposed to a large spending bill. The monthslong standoff threatens to kneecap a sputtering economy saddled with historically high unemployment claims that are on the rise once again.
But Mitch McConnell simply doesn’t care and has no interest in giving us the help we need anytime soon:
- “In a room full of reporters and officials in Riyadh, as Trump’s speech was played on a massive screen almost no one paid attention, unlike when the other leaders spoke.” The G20’s world leaders are also ready to say bye to this bitch! [CNN]
- And now, a group of Republican “national security experts” is publicly calling on Donald Trump to admit he’s a big fucking loser. [Washington Post]
- The election drama in Michigan is over! [Detroit Free Press]
- Meanwhile, one of Trump’s final acts as president will be to defend the Confederacy. The Lost Cause, indeed! [NBCNews]
- And House Democrats turned down GSA head Emily Murphy’s offer to send her deputy before them next week, and instead are demanding Murphy show up herself tomorrow. Katie Porter is ready to murder, y’all! [Washington Post]
- As for President-Elect Joe Biden, he’s moving full-steam ahead and has started to announce some of his picks for his cabinet and other top roles in his administration. [New York Times/New York Times]
- Including Alejandro Mayorkas as head of the Department of Homeland Security.
- One Democrat in Congress has made some moves to get Rudy Giuliani disbarred. [HuffPost]
- Some “top Democratic donors” and Willie Brown (ugh???) want California Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint a Black woman to Kamala Harris’s Senate seat. Senator Maxine Waters, please! [Politico]
- No shit, Obama! [Washington Post]
- Now that Trump is on his way out, General Motors is “no longer support[ing] the Trump administration in legal efforts to end California’s right to set its own clean-air standards.” [Associated Press]
- In very fucked up news, the federal prison system is planning on initially giving the covid-19 vaccine to staff, and not to the people incarcerated in its prisons. [Associated Press]
- Turns out actor and former Silver Spoons star Ricky Schroder may be a white supremacist! He allegedly donated $150,000 to free Kyle Rittenhouse from jail and posted a photo of himself smiling with Rittenhouse and his mom. [USA Today]