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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Donald Trump’s minions stormed the United States Capitol in a violent attack on democracy yesterday – many are calling it an attempted coup. The Trumpistas delayed Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s election victory – and directly undermined the peaceful transfer of power.

Meanwhile, Biden will name Merrick Garland to serve as his Attorney General. It’s not a Supreme Court seat, but hey, it’s something.

And lastly, state and local politicians across the country are taking steps to speed up the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. As the latest numbers show, they’ve got a long way to go.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Well this is something. Congress went into sudden recess, the US Capitol went into lockdown, and several buildings nearby were evacuated after a large pro-Trump mob swarmed and breached the Capitol yesterday afternoon. News videos showed people banging on the Capitol doors, roaming the halls, waving Trump 2020 and Confederate flags, and fighting with Capitol Police as officers fired pepper spray. The mob erected a gallows and a cross outside. Some wore T-shirts saying MAGA civil war, and a few were identified by experts as known neo-Nazis. Some attacked journalists and trashed TV cameras. Police advised members to wear gas masks and used tear gas inside the Capitol rotunda. Police also drew guns inside the House chamber. Capitol Police shot a woman in the chest; she later died, but further details were not forthcoming. The law enforcement response, reportedly led by the Justice Department and Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, was criticized as exceedingly generous to the mob. Virginia, Maryland and DC National Guard eventually deployed to the Capitol. The DC Mayor imposed a 6pm citywide curfew. Shortly before that time, after four tense and murky hours, Capitol Police declared the building secure. Congress resumed its business in the evening and many Republicans resumed their objections to Biden’s certification. But it was unclear through much of the day who was in charge of the situation not to mention the government.

So far, the MAGA mob succeeded only in delaying Congressional certification of the Electoral College votes making Joe Biden the next president. But make no mistake: These were anti- democracy thugs attempting to undo the will of the people by force. A man stood on the dais in the House chamber and shouted that Trump won the election. Another man wearing a horned helm and called the Q-Anon Shaman took over the Senate chamber. There were thefts from Congressional offices. All this marked the latest and hopefully final phase of Trump’s subversion of democracy. The NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, yesterday said QUOTE the outcome of this democratic election must be respected ENDQUOTE. Foreign governments expressed concern and sypmathy. The Venezuelan government said it hoped for stability for the American people.

Speaking to supporters early in the day, Donald Trump vowed QUOTE we will never concede ENDQUOTE. At the same time, his vice president, Mike Pence, was preparing a statement, well, conceding. Pence, along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, declined to join the Republican faction seeking to reject the election. McConnell warned of democracy entering QUOTE a death spiral ENDQUOTE. Of course, that right before Pence and members of Congress evacuated. Joe Biden called on Trump to go on television and QUOTE demand an end to this siege ENDQUOTE. Biden said the mob’s actions bordered on sedition. Indeed. Isolated with his loyalists, Trump last night was suspended by Twitter for twelve hours. PBS reported that he had QUOTE lost it ENDQUOTE. He faced new calls for impeachment and the invocation of the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. And for his prosecution. Earlier, Trump released a prerecorded message saying the election was stolen but calling for calm. Again, he lies.

Biden Names Garland AG

: In other political news, President-elect Joe Biden has selected Judge Merrick Garland to serve as his attorney general. Garland is the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals in DC. Biden was expected to officially announce Garland’s appointment today, the AP reports. Biden will also name other senior leaders of the department, including former homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general and former Justice Department civil rights chief Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general. He will also name Kristen Clarke, the president of Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, as assistant attorney general for civil rights. Some defense lawyers and criminal justice reform advocates

have said they worry Garland’s record on the bench shows he is too deferential to the government and law enforcement, the Washington Post reports. But, according to the AP, the selection of Gupta and Clarke, two women with significant experience in civil rights, appeared designed to blunt those concerns and offered as a signal that progressive causes will be prioritized in the new administration. Which frankly can’t come soon enough.

Politicians Push Faster Vaccinations

Have you got the shot yet? Of course you haven’t. With frustration rising over the slow rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, politicians around the US are turning up the pressure to get shots in arms more quickly, the AP reports. New York’s governor is threatening to fine hospitals that don’t use their allotment of Covid-19 vaccine fast enough. His South Carolina counterpart says health care workers have until January 15 to get a shot or move to the back of the line. California’s governor wants to use dentists to vaccinate people.

More than three weeks into the vaccination campaign, just four point eight million people in the US had gotten their first shot, the AP reports. That’s out of seventeen million doses distributed as of yesterday morning. The US has an estimated twenty-one million health care workers and three million nursing home residents. The Centers for Disease Control reported just four hundred and twenty-nine thousand people in nursing homes have been vaccinated.

The slow rollout has been blamed on a multitude of problems, the AP reports. Politicians are getting aggressive in trying to accelerate the campaign. The governors of California, Maryland and North Carolina said they will use the National Guard to speed things up. State and local officials are also moving to expand availability of the vaccine to other groups. Anything’s better than letting doses expire after going unused.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

When he campaigned in Georgia, Joe Biden promised $2,000 survival checks if the Democratic Senate candidates won there. And yesterday, before all the craziness, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said delivering the checks is one of the first things he wants to do after Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff are seated in the Senate. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said the checks must be followed by QUOTE an aggressive agenda that recognizes the economic desperation facing so many Americans ENDQUOTE. Hear, hear.

The Louisville Metro Police Department has formally fired two of the officers involved in the March police raid that killed emergency medical worker Breonna Taylor, CBS News reports. The department last week sent pre-termination letters to Detective Myles Cosgrove, who an FBI analysis determined fired the shot that killed Taylor, and Detective Josh Jaynes, who applied for the search warrant at Taylor's Louisville home. Enjoy the job market, fellas.

A British judge yesterday refused to grant bail and release WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the Washington Post reports. He will remain in a prison cell on the outskirts of London while the US government pursues its case against him. Meanwhile, the change of administrations in Washington might alter the course of the case, as the lead prosecutor, G. Zachary Terwilliger, announced his resignation on Tuesday. He’s a Trump appointee.

More than fifty people, including pro-democracy politicians and campaigners, were arrested in raids across Hong Kong yesterday, the Guardian reports. Some of the targets livestreamed their own arrests. Antony Blinken, Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of state, labelled the arrests QUOTE an assault on those bravely advocating for universal rights ENDQUOTE. He also said the incoming administration would stand with Hong Kong people against Beijing’s crackdown on democracy. Or what’s left of it.

That’s all for the AM Quickie. Join us this afternoon on the Majority Report.

JAN 7, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn