Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report: McConnell acknowledges, congratulates Biden on win | Newsmax will refer to Biden as ‘president-elect’ | Biden slams Trump for refusal to concede | Senate GOP leaders seek to end election disputes | Biden shares inauguration protocols | Barr steps down | FDA endorses Moderna vaccine’s efficacy | Panel meets Thursday

NEWS THIS MORNING

Golf clap, golf clap. Congrats all around!:

Following the Electoral College vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for winning the White House. https://bit.ly/38au05z

In McConnell’s words: "The Electoral College has spoken, so today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He's devoted himself to public service for many years.”

Watch McConnell’s full acknowledgement of Biden’s win: https://bit.ly/3nsk9ys

AND SO DID VLADIMIR PUTIN:

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated President-elect Biden following his Electoral College win. https://bit.ly/37lcsEx

What Putin said, according to the Kremlin: Putin “wished the President-elect every success and expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which bear special responsibility for global security and stability, can, despite their differences, effectively contribute to solving many problems and meeting challenges that the world is facing today.”

AND EVEN NEWSMAX WILL REFER TO BIDEN AS PRESIDNTE-ELECT:

Via The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr, “New statement from Newsmax: ‘As a result of the Electoral College vote Joe Biden is the president-elect and will be referred to as such on Newsmax. We also recognize Pres Trump continues to contest the results and we will cover aspects of that news story.’” https://bit.ly/34fB5Aw

SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADERS WANT TO PUT THE ELECTION DISPUTES IN THE PAST:

Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, “Senate Republican leaders want to avoid a messy debate and vote on the legitimacy of the election results when Congress meets Jan. 6 to count the votes of the Electoral College.” https://bit.ly/383wRNz

Compared to a few House Republicans: “Several House Republicans led by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) will move ahead with objections to state results. If just one GOP senator joins Brooks, each chamber will then meet separately to consider those objections.”

Hyperlink https://bit.ly/3npTnq8

More reactions from Senate Republicans: https://bit.ly/2WfWapU

HOW HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ HAIL MARY BID TO FLIP THE ELECTION RESULTS IS CAUSING ISSUES:

https://bit.ly/3oQEFsL

LAST NIGHT — BIDEN HAD SOME CHOICE WORDS FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP:

President-elect Biden slammed President Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. https://bit.ly/34bR9TF

Biden said during remarks last night: “Respecting the will of the people is at the heart of our democracy even when we find those results hard to accept. But that’s the obligation of those who have taken on a sworn duty to uphold the Constitution.”

It’s Tuesday — 10 days until Christmas! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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IN THE BIDEN TRANSITION

Spotted: Joey B getting the number 306 tattooed on his forehead:

President-elect Biden officially received 306 Electoral College votes yesterday, solidifying his presidential win. https://nyti.ms/2WkBblO

What time it became official: Biden hit the magic 270 threshold around 5:30 p.m. EST yesterday. California put him over the edge.

Timing: The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman noticed that Trump’s: “A way for Trump to get a new [attorney general] in and try to change cable news chyrons as Biden clinched the electoral college.” https://bit.ly/34hffMZ

Short Joe Biden: Pop the bubbly, but from the comfort of your own homes:

LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

And an endorsement sticker for you!:

“A coronavirus vaccine manufactured by Moderna is on the verge of authorization after Food and Drug Administration scientists found it to be safe and 94 percent effective at preventing severe cases of COVID-19.” https://bit.ly/3gWLrKQ

When the panel will meet to discuss this vaccine: On Thursday

When it could be authorized: As soon as Friday (!)

Comparing this vaccine to Pfizer’s vaccine: “Both Pfizer and Moderna developed their vaccines using experimental mRNA technology, and both rely on two doses to be effective — Moderna's must be taken 28 days apart, while Pfizer's are given 21 days apart.”

Any side effects?: “Side effects included chills, injection site soreness, fever, headache and fatigue, but most did not last longer than a day, the agency found.”

This video has more than one million views — and I love it:

Watch: https://bit.ly/3mud9jj

THE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 16,532,877

U.S. death toll: 300,886

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y

For context: Five months ago today, 3,434,636 Americans had tested positive for the coronavirus and 136,493 had died. https://bit.ly/2IP3B4m

IN THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE

Last call at the Barr:

Attorney General William Barr will step down in the next week, President Trump announced yesterday evening. https://bit.ly/3ml9eFh

Trump tweeted: “Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family…” https://bit.ly/2IQIzCt

Trump continued — who will take over: “Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all!” https://bit.ly/2IQIzCt

^ Trump’s announcement timing: Trump tweeted this news almost immediately after President-elect Biden hit the 270-Electoral College vote threshold.

What day Barr will leave, according to his resignation letter: Dec. 23

Read Barr’s resignation letter: There’s nothing groundbreaking in it. https://bit.ly/2IWkmLe

NOTABLE TWEETS:

I share in your excitement, governor!:

Watch: https://bit.ly/2K9MHy1

Oh, good. This makes sense. This was on my mind, too:

ON TAP:

The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump is at the White House. Vice President Pence is in Indiana today. President-elect Biden is in Georgia and Vice President-elect Harris is in Wilmington, Del.

President Trump has no public events scheduled.

Today: President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris separately receive the President’s Daily Brief.

Today: Vice President-elect Harris holds a virtual meeting with Democratic attorneys general.

11 a.m. EST: Vice President Pence left for Indiana.

12:15 p.m. EST: Senators meet for weekly caucus luncheons. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3oRGGVx

This afternoon: President-elect Pence travels to Georgia to campaign for the Democratic Senate runoff candidates. https://bit.ly/34evmeh

1:45 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence tours Catalent and leads a roundtable discussion on Operation Warp Speed in Bloomington, Ind.

4:45 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence returns to Washington, D.C.

WHAT TO WATCH:

2:30 p.m. EST: President-elect Biden campaigns for Democratic Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia. Livestream: https://bit.ly/38kZaav

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...:

Today is National Cupcake Day!

To celebrate, here’s a list of cupcake deals today: https://bit.ly/2Wid9bu

And because you made it this far, here’s a helpful alpaca: https://bit.ly/3oXN0dZ