Monday, Dec. 7, 2020

· The Office of Special Counsel urged President Donald Trump to take “appropriate disciplinary action,” such as a fine or removal from office, against White House trade advisor Peter Navarro for Hatch Act violations.

Tuesday, Dec. 8

· Senior congressional Republicans rejected a symbolic resolution to acknowledge the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden during a meeting of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

· The House approved the annual National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense policy legislation. Trump threatened to veto the $741 billion bill because it doesn't include a repeal of legal liability protections for social media companies, but the votes surpassed the two-thirds majority needed to overturn a veto.

· Axios reported on a Chinese spy named Fang Fang with alleged ties to United States politicians including Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), which set off a stir of controversy among Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later said, “I don't have any concern about Mr. Swalwell.” Swalwell himself says he is being targeted due to his outspoken criticism of Trump.

Wednesday, Dec. 9

· Continuing a campaign of sowing misinformation about the results of the 2020 presidential election, Trump sent a 39-page filing to intervene in a Supreme Court case brought by the Texas attorney general that tried to toss the election results in several states that Trump lost.

· A bipartisan group of lawmakers working on a $908 billion coronavirus relief package released an outline of the framework for their measure, which includes providing $160 billion for state and local funding and an agreement in principle on liability “as the basis for good faith negotiations.”

· The House passed with strong bipartisan support a bill to make it easier for scientists to conduct marijuana research in states where the drug is legal.

· Senate Republicans defeated a pair of Democrat-led measures to block the Trump administration’s proposed sale of advanced military weapons, including F-35 stealth fighter jets and Reaper drones, to the United Arab Emirates.

· Following a vote to approve a caucus rule change, Senate Democrats allowed Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin to helm the Judiciary Committee while still holding onto his leadership post.

· Biden picked Katherine Tai, the chief trade lawyer for the House Ways and Means Committee, as the U.S. trade representative, a position that bears responsibility for trade rule enforcement and negotiations.

Thursday, Dec. 10

· Biden tapped Barack Obama’s former national security advisor, Susan Rice, to run the White House Domestic Policy Council.

· Michael Missal, the inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, criticized Robert Wilkie, the secretary of veterans affairs, for an “at a minimum unprofessional” response when a female Navy veteran alleged a sexual assault at a department hospital in Washington.

· A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended authorization of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. About 2.9 million doses of the vaccine were sent around the country the following week.

· The U.S. Supreme Court ruled three Muslim men can sue for monetary damages the FBI agents they accuse of putting them on the government’s “no-fly list” because they refused to become informants.

Friday, Dec. 11

· The federal government executed Brandon Bernard, a Black man from Texas involved in the 1999 killing of a couple when he was 18, despite advocacy groups, jurors and others pleading for a stay to his execution.

· Following a House vote, the Senate passed a one-week government funding bill to avoid a government shutdown at midnight. The bill buys congressional negotiators a little time to finish up talks on a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package for the rest of the fiscal year, which includes coronavirus relief spending.

· White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows warned FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn that he might be ousted if the FDA fails to authorize the nation’s first coronavirus vaccine quickly. Trump backed these threats up on Twitter, calling the agency a “big, old, slow turtle” and calling on it to “get the dam [sic] vaccines out NOW.”

· The Supreme Court rejected the Texas case seeking to throw out the results of the 2020 presidential election in key battleground states. About two-thirds of House GOP representatives spoke out in support of the effort to subvert the presidential election, although most Senate Republicans kept quiet.

· The Justice Department executed Alfred Bourgeois, a 56-year-old man sentenced to death for murdering his 2-year-old daughter in 2002, marking the 10th federal execution carried out by the Trump administration and making 2020 the most lethal year in the federal system since the 1920s.

· The Senate passed a bill overhauling anti-money laundering rules and banning anonymous shell companies, making it easier to police illicit money.

Saturday, Dec. 12

· Trump took to Twitter to criticism Attorney General Bill Barr for not violating Justice Department policy to publicly reveal an investigation into Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

Sunday, Dec. 13

· Trump said he would delay plans for senior White House staff members to receive the coronavirus vaccine. “People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary,” Trump tweeted. “I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time.”

· The White House acknowledged that hackers likely acting on behalf of a Russian intelligence agency broke into key government networks and accessed their email systems.