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Here’s the memo arguing Pence could make Trump the winner of the 2020 election
Yesterday I told you about reporting in the new book from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa that said Sen. Mike Lee investigated a scenario where then-Vice President Mike Pence could declare Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 election. That scenario was detailed in a confidential memo from the White House.
Yesterday afternoon, that memo surfaced detailing a 6-point plan for Pence to overrule Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election.
The book reports Lee made “phone call after phone call” to see whether any of the swing states Biden won were serious about sending dueling slates of electors to Washington, which would have allowed Pence to throw out votes and hand the presidency to Trump. But, he didn’t find any instance where someone was set to certify an alternate slate of electors, so Lee abandoned the gambit.
Here’s what you need to know for Tuesday morning
🚨 Breaking overnight: Johnson & Johnson says a COVID-19 vaccine booster two months after their first shot increases protection against the illness to 94%. [WSJ]
🦠 COVID-19 is now the deadliest pandemic in American history. The number of fatalities has surpassed the 1918 flu pandemic. [CNBC]
💵 Democrats in Congress will attach an increase in the debt limit to a funding bill to keep the government running through December. [NYT]
💉 Utah lawmakers want to gather public input before taking action against President Joe Biden’s vaccine order for private business. They’ll hold a special committee hearing early next month. [Tribune]
🏛 Gov. Spencer Cox joined 25 other Republican governors in a letter slamming the Biden administration’s policies along the U.S.-Mexico border. [Tribune]
🛑 Utah Inland Port officials abruptly postponed a vote on a proposed $150 million bond to fund rail access to the facility. [Tribune]
👀 The Davis School District has banned LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter flags, saying the symbols are too “politically charged.” [Tribune]
✍️ Few Utahns have submitted map proposals for the redistricting process currently underway, but officials hope more will try their hand at redrawing the state’s political boundaries. [Tribune]
🏛 The committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol could start issuing subpoenas “within a week.” [CNN]
⚖️ The Justice Department urges the Supreme Court not to overturn Roe v. Wade and reject a restrictive abortion law from Mississippi. [NYT]
⚖️ A Texas doctor who performed an abortion in violation of the state’s ban is being sued. [WaPo]
🚨 Homeland security officials say they’ll investigate after disturbing pictures and videos of Border Patrol agents on horseback rounding up Haitian immigrants. [WaPo]
✈️ The U.S. will lift its ban on foreign air travelers, so long as they’re vaccinated against COVID-19. [Bloomberg]
🇨🇦 Justin Trudeau will continue as Canada’s prime minister, but his Liberal party failed to gain a majority in the House of Commons. [Politico]
📉 Stocks had their worst day since May. The S&P fell 1.7%, and the Dow was down 600 points. [CNBC]
📱 Apple is reportedly working on iPhone features to detect depression and cognitive decline in users. [WSJ]
Tuesday morning’s Utah news roundup
COVID-19
More Utahns are now in ICU beds with COVID-19 than ever before. [Tribune]
Pfizer’s successful child vaccine trial good news for slowing COVID-19 surge, Utah doctor says. [Deseret News]
FDA approval of COVID-19 vaccine has little effect in northern Utah. [ABC 4]
Utah
Central Iron Co. Water Conservancy District looks to optimize water usage. [ABC 4]
On the opinion pages
