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Scoop: McConnell alerted White House before congratulating Biden

15 December 2020
Dan Ackermann

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called White House chief of staff Mark Meadows Tuesday morning to say he planned on congratulating Joe Biden on winning the Electoral College and would officially address him as president-elect on the Senate floor, two sources familiar with the call tell Axios.

Why it matters: The Senate leader had resisted public demands to acknowledge Biden's victory despite the president's losing court battles, holding off until electors had formally given Biden the 270 votes he needed to secure his win on Monday. The delay underscored that McConnell still needs President Trump to back must-pass legislation before leaving office, one of the sources said.

  • The Kentucky Republican — whose wife, Elaine Chao, serves in the president's Cabinet — did not speak directly with Trump.

Beyond Trump's help in the Senate, McConnell also needs the support of Trump voters in the pivotal Georgia Senate runoff elections next month. Republicans must win both races or face a 50-50 split Senate with the Democrats, and Vice President Kamala Harris, casting tie-breaking votes in her party's favor.

  • McConnell also made clear during a phone call Tuesday afternoon he doesn’t want Senate Republicans doing anything to jeopardize incumbents up for reelection in the critical 2022 midterms.

Yes, but: McConnell's courtesy call to the White House didn’t stop Trump from tweeting an article quoting Rep. Mo Brooks. The Alabama Republican asserted: "‘Trump Won the Electoral College' - I Can Be a Part of the ‘Surrender Caucus‘ or I Can Fight for Our Country,” just moments after McConnell spoke.

  • A spokesperson for McConnell declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.