Donald Trump Draws Ire of Officials, Tom Price Tapped For Health Secretary, Mitt Romney Stays in the Picture and More

As Wisconsin state officials prepare to begin on Thursday the recount process of Election Day ballots, many election officials across the country are blasting President-elect Donald Trump for his comments in which he said the 2016 election was fraudulent because millions had voted illegally.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted throughout the day on the matter, including floating conspiracy theories: “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” Trump tweeted late Sunday, one of more than 10 tweets on the issue.

Tom Rath, the former attorney general of New Hampshire and a longtime kingmaker in the state's Republican politics, tweeted: "This will probably cost me my spot in the Cabinet but there was no fraud, serious or other, in this election in NH. There just wasn't."

Virginia Commissioner of Elections Edgardo Cortés said, "The claims of voter fraud in Virginia during the November 8 election are unfounded ... The election was fair and all votes cast by eligible voters were accurately counted."

Thus far, Trump and his team have offered no explanation as to why, as the election's winner, he made that assertion or where the evidence for such a claim comes.

Top Stories

Officials Blast Trump Vote Fraud Claims, GOP Wants to 'Move On': "Election officials, leading Democrats — and even a prominent Republican — blasted President-elect Donald Trump after he spread allegations of voter fraud and targeted a trio of states with his false claim. Trump first alleged Sunday that 'millions' of undocumented immigrants voted against him and later directed the inaccurate charges at California, Virginia and New Hampshire. Neither Trump nor his transition team have responded to requests to explain what he meant or provide any evidence." (CNN)

How Will Recounts Work in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania?: "Donald Trump's destruction of the Democratic 'blue wall' of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — victories that catapulted him to the presidency over Hillary Clinton — is set to become the subject of recounts. The process, spurred by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, will play out differently in the three states, but is highly unlikely to end up changing the result: Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton's 232. Clinton, however, will likely win the popular vote by more than 2 million ballots." (CNN)

Trump Keeps Eye on Romney for State Dept. Despite Scorn From Some Loyalists: "President-elect Donald Trump is for now unswayed by the extraordinarily public revolt by some of his top advisers and allies over the possible choice of Mitt Romney as secretary of state and continues to see his foe as a serious contender for the diplomatic post, several people briefed on the deliberations said Monday." (The Washington Post)

Rep. Tom Price officially tapped to Lead Health and Human Services: "Rep. Tom Price is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the next secretary of Health and Human Services, the real estate mogul’s transition team announced in an email early Tuesday morning." (Politico)

Trump’s Threat to Terminate Opening to Cuba May Draw Opposition From Business, Republican States: "President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to 'terminate' normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba if he can’t get 'a better deal' from Havana may leave him at odds with many in the U.S. business community and in deeply Republican states. In Florida, where a significant portion of the Cuban American community objects to renewal of diplomatic relations and other elements of the thaw, President Obama’s lifting of limits on both family travel and money sent to the island are widely popular." (The Washington Post)

From the Twitterverse

President-elect Donald Trump took a moment away from lashing out at CNN and complaining about the recount effort on Twitter to strike a nationalist tone:

Today's Numbers

• A plane carrying 81 people, including a Brazilian soccer team, crashed overnight.
• As many as 16,000 Syrians have fled Aleppo as government forces advance into besieged rebel-held city.
• Emanuel AME shooter Dylann Roof, acting as his own attorney, will help select a jury that will decide his fate on 33 charges against him.
• Sales on Cyber Monday were expected to finish up 10.2 percent from a year ago at $3.39 billion, compared with an earlier estimate of $3.36 billion.

Quote of the Day

Newt Gingrich on Donald Trump's search for the next secretary of state:

“It’s the only place so far that we have seen him trying to do an open apprenticeship, if you will.”

Allen McDuffee is a politics and policy reporter, investigative journalist, blogger and podcast host. He has written for The Atlantic, Wired and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @AllenMcDuffee

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons