Politics roundup: Jeff Sessions quits as Attorney General of the United States

Jeff Sessions is on his way out from the Attorney General’s office. What does this mean for the White House and the Russia investigation?

Jeff Sessions quits

Only one day after one of the most well-attended midterm elections in recent U.S. history, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he would step down. Well, that he was resigning at the behest of the president, which arguably walks the line between voluntarily leaving and being fired outright.

Sessions started his tenure as a loyal member of the president’s cabinet, resigning as a Senator from Alabama to take on the role. After the Mueller investigation began to ramp up, things soured. Sessions recused himself from the case, as sources proved that he had contact with Russian nationals that could make a conflict of interest. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein took on oversight for the investigation.

The President was reportedly furious, given that one of his friendliest cabinet members had just stepped away from a potentially damning investigation. Afterward, Sessions was apparently pressured to resign for months.

Matthew G. Whitaker will not serve as the Acting Attorney General. He had previously served as Sessions’ chief of staff. Unlike Sessions, who was legally obliged to say as little as possible about Russia investigation, Whitaker has made it fairly clear that he’s not a fan of Mueller’s work. Before joining the Department of Justice, he had worked as a commentator. During that time, he wondered if an A.G. might cut Mueller’s budget “so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt”.

Democrats immediately began to warn the White House, saying that Whitaker will be fully investigated for his own conflicts of interest. Come January, Democrats will also control the House of Representatives, meaning that the House Intelligence Committee and others will be able to request legal subpoenas.

Until then, however, many worry what Whitaker might do to the Russia investigation. Reportedly, Mueller’s team has begun writing its final report. It’s unclear whether that means the investigation has reached a natural end, or if investigators are hedging their bets and wrapping up early.

Some U.S. midterm races still up in the air

For many people, the midterm elections are over. Sure, we’ll be dealing with the aftermath of new representatives and split control of Congress for a while. But, at least we’re blessedly free of political ads and mailers clogging up our daily lives. Finally, we can breathe. Right?

Alas, that’s not true for everyone. In fact, there are still some races that remain too close to call, thanks to ongoing vote counts and razor-thin margins.

In Florida, the Senate race between Republican Rick Scott and incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson is so close that the candidates are within 0.2 points of one another. That’s within the margin for a recount. Furthermore, Nelson first seemed to concede, but then backtracked when it looked like things may change course.

As for the Florida governor’s race, that may not be over either, even though Democrat Andrew Gillum already conceded to Ron DeSantis. Votes there are still being counted, but it looks as if a recount is almost certain. Florida law requires that any election within a 0.25 margin automatically triggers a manual, or hand, recount. A margin of 0.5 automatically triggers a machine recount.

Arizona’s Senate race is similarly nail-biting. Republican Martha McSally currently just lost her lead over Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. Only yesterday, there were an estimated 600,000 mail-in ballots that still had to be counted. Now, Sinema has jumped ahead by an incredibly thin margin of 9,000 votes. Thousands of ballots still need to be counted.

Perhaps the most dramatic of these so far is the contest for Georgia’s governor. Brian Kemp has apparently won, making for a Republican victory over Democrat Stacey Abrams. Yet, the race and the state of Georgia’s elections have marred the victory. Kemp, who until very recently was Georgia’s Secretary of State, alleged that Democrats had hacked the state’s voting systems.

This announcement, right before Election Day, was viewed by some as a last-ditch attempt to sway voters. Right now, it’s not clear how many votes are left to count, with up to 53,000 voter registrations on hold.

As of now, Abrams has refused to concede, claiming that there are still thousands of absentee and provisional ballots that need to be counted first.

It’s worth remembering that election recounts only rarely change things. Still, the close margins between candidates and the record high voter turnout could add some of these looming recounts to the list of exceptions.

Hang in there, RBG

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, fell in her office and broke three ribs. She is currently admitted to George Washington University hospital for observation and treatment. Though Ginsburg is apparently going to be fine, this most recent news item about her has made liberal and progressive watchers very nervous indeed. If Ginsburg, currently the most senior justice on the Court, were to resign or pass away, she would leave open yet another Supreme Court spot to be filled by an ultra-conservative president.

And, finally, your palate cleanser

Usually, this is the point where we stop talking about politics. It’s a dirty field, usually, one that’s full of empty posturing and broken promises, that leaves you feeling oddly greasy and tired after too long scrolling through your newsfeed. It makes you think of wild ventures that would take you far out of reach of the internet or cell phone towers.

Think of a barren hut somewhere in the mountains or within the steadily warming Arctic Circle. It almost sounds relaxing, right? Maybe it’s overstating the case, but there are days where I’d rather be fending off a bear with a chunk of firewood than watch another political ad.

Anyway, that’s not really feasible for most of us. We’d better do our civic duty and work toward a better nation overall, right? And if you need some hope, it’s actually worth turning your attention back to the 2018 midterms.

Yes, you may not be especially happy about who’s occupying the White House, but the executive branch isn’t everything. This year, more women were elected to office than before (though, compared to other countries, we’ve got a ways to go).

Women of color made up a larger part of those candidates than ever before. Meanwhile, Native American and Muslim women also made history, alongside LGBTQ candidates. That doesn’t mean we don’t have work ahead of us, but it’s enough to pause and take heart for the moment.