President lauds Operation Warp Speed success but says New York will have to wait for vaccine

McConnell gives Trump his full support

Mitch McConnell has given Donald Trump his full support as he fights the result of the election, dismaying moderate Republicans with his embrace of the president’s defiant refusal to concede.

Mr McConnell said that Mr Trump was “100 per cent within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities”.

He told the Senate on Monday: "Let's not have any lectures - no lectures - about how the president should immediately, cheerfully accept preliminary election results from the same characters who just spent four years refusing to accept the validity of the last election."

His remarks came following a meeting with the attorney general, Bill Barr, who has been notably absent while Mr Trump and his allies protest against a “stolen” election.

Harriet Alexander reports.

Acting Secretary of Defence arrives at Pentagon

Christopher Miller, the acting secretary of defence, has arrived at the Pentagon to take up his new role. He was previously director of the National Counterterrorism Centre.

And he knows how to make an entrance.

‘God help us’: Esper worries about ‘yes men’ under Trump

Fired defence secretary Mark Esper said he was no “yes man” for Donald Trump as he worried the president would begin replacing senior Cabinet officials with people who would not push back.

In an exclusive interview with Military Times that dropped shortly after his abrupt firing, Mr Esper took exception with critics who have called him a “yes man”, the source of the derogatory nickname “Yesper” used by the president.

“Name another Cabinet secretary that’s pushed back… Have you seen me on a stage saying, ‘Under the exceptional leadership of blah-blah-blah, we have blah-blah-blah-blah?” Mr Esper said.

“At the end of the day, it’s as I said — you’ve got to pick your fights… I could have a fight over anything, and I could make it a big fight, and I could live with that —why? Who’s going to come in behind me? It’s going to be a real ‘yes man.’ And then God help us.”

Justin Vallejo reports.

Fox News pulls plug on RNC press conference

Fox News cut off coverage of a Republican National Committee press conference being held by White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. 

Ms McEnany claimed that she was there in a personal capacity and an adviser to the campaign, and not as press secretary, thereby not violating the Hatch Act.

With no evidence, she claimed that "state legislatures" are making decisions about elections.

Host Neil Cavuto cut off the feed, saying: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I just think we have to be very clear: she's charging the other side as welcoming fraud and illegal voting, unless she has more details to back that up, I can't in good countenance continue to show you this."

Ms McEnany did not appear to have any concrete evidence of illegal votes being cast.

NASA boss to step down before Biden takes office

NASA boss Jim Bridenstine says he will step down before president-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The space agency administrator said that he would quit his role as Mr Biden would need someone he “trusted” in charge.

“The right question here is ‘What’s in the best interest of NASA as an agency, and what’s in the best interest of America's exploration program?' " he told Aviation Week.

“For that, what you need is somebody who has a close relationship with the president of the United States. You need somebody who is trusted by the administration.

Trump appointee blocking Biden administration from accessing $9.9m in transition funds

Joe Biden’s transition team is being blocked by a Trump appointee who signs off on releasing the federal funds allocated to the incoming president, sparking widespread anger across the political spectrum.

Emily Murphy, head of the General Services Administration (GSA), said the the election has not yet been decided.

“An ascertainment has not yet been made,” said Pamela Pennington, a spokeswoman for GSA. “And its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law.”

Mr Biden was called the winner on Saturday after independent media decision desks calculated that Donald Trump could not catch his lead.

Harriet Alexander reports.

Pfizer CEO dismisses Trump Jr’s claim vaccine news held back to damage Trump

Pfizer’s chief executive officer has dismissed suggestions that the timing of their announcement about a highly-promising coronavirus vaccine was delayed until after the election, in a bid to deny Donald Trump any electoral boost.

Albert Bourla, the CEO and chairman of the New York-based pharmaceutical giant, told CNBC on Monday that his company was “not working with the election as a timeline” and that they always planned to rely on the “speed of science.”

Harriet Alexander reports.

NYPD closes streets around Trump’s Manhattan hotel

The NYPD has closed Manhattan’s Central Park West for two blocks around Trump International Hotel & Tower, to keep protestors from getting close.

Barr to open voting ‘fraud’ investigation

Barr gets federal prosecutors to look into voting ‘fraud’