The Note: What Will The Recounts Show?
— -- NOTABLES
--EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ELECTION RECOUNT EFFORTS: The presidential election was called for Donald Trump nearly three weeks ago but that has not stopped a potential recount of three important swing states that experts say will likely not change the outcome of the election. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has raised enough money for a vote recount in Wisconsin and is targeting Pennsylvania and Michigan as well. Hillary Clinton's team said it will join the recount effort, which President-elect Trump has called "sad." ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY highlights what you need to know about the Wisconsin recount and other potential recounts. http://abcn.ws/2fYEuIZ
--FACT-CHECKING TRUMP’S CLAIMS ABOUT ‘SERIOUS VOTER FRAUD’: Donald Trump made a controversial claim on Twitter last weekend -- amid a push for recounts in several states -- that "millions of people" voted illegally and that "serious voter fraud" occurred in California, New Hampshire and Virginia. The president-elect didn't cite any evidence, but transition team spokesman Jason Miller said yesterday that two studies from recent years appeared to validate his claim. ABC News has fact-checked Trump’s claims and found them to be false. ABC’s LAUREN PEARLE has more. http://abcn.ws/2gDnyss
--WHAT TRUMP IS TWEETING: @realDonaldTrump: Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: A campaign that was never about policy has morphed into a transition that’s looked like a reality show, if cable news was in charge of the scripts. But with the selection of Rep. Tom Price as HHS secretary, President-elect Donald Trump is giving a solid indication of his policy ambitions in a very big area. Price, an orthopedic surgeon and a savvy political operator, hasn’t just criticized Obamacare, or thought about replacing it in theory: He’s written a bill that’s among the most serious GOP efforts to take Obamacare apart and patch something else together in its place. It’s going to come under serious scrutiny for its impact – Price would repeal the Medicaid expansion, and make coverage significantly more expensive for some of those who can least afford it – and it’s not clear how much Trump and his new team are on board for. But for Price, at least, “repeal and replace” is much more than a slogan.
SPEED READ with ABC’s ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
TRUMP TRANSITION TEAM GIVES NO EVIDENCE OF VOTER FRAUD THIS YEAR. President-elect Donald Trump made baseless claims Sunday that "millions of people" voted illegally for Hillary Clinton, in turn costing him the popular vote -- and his transition team provided no evidence to back up the allegations when pressed Monday. "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. Clinton currently leads the national popular vote by more than 2 million votes. In another tweet, he named Virginia, New Hampshire and California as three states with "serious voter fraud,” notes ABC’s KATHERINE FAULDERS. http://abcn.ws/2gCU7H1
TRUMP THREATENS TO REVERSE OBAMA'S CUBA POLICY UNLESS CUBA MAKES A 'BETTER DEAL.' President-elect Donald Trump threatened Monday to reverse President Obama's moves to ease relations between the United States and Cuba unless Cuba makes "a better deal." During the campaign, Trump said he planned to roll back Obama's executive actions on Cuba, which include allowing direct flights between the two countries and lifting limits on the amount of cigars and rum that American travelers can bring back to the U.S. for personal consumption, unless the Cuban government grants more political freedom to its people. ABC’s KATHERINE FAULDERS has more: http://abcn.ws/2goxLsp
MICHIGAN CERTIFIES DONALD TRUMP AS WINNER OF STATE'S PRESIDENTIAL RACE. A Michigan elections panel has certified Donald Trump as the winner in the state's presidential election, according to The Associated Press. Trump won the state by 10,704 votes -- a mere two-tenths of a percentage point. The result pushes Donald Trump's total to 306 electoral votes to 232 electoral votes for Hillary Clinton, reports ABC’s RYAN STRUYK. The Michigan State Board of Canvassers certified the election results shortly after 2 p.m. Monday. Green Party candidate Jill Stein says she plans to file for a recount in Michigan which she must do by a Wednesday deadline. http://abcn.ws/2fY0Dak
WISCONSIN OFFICIALS SAY RECOUNT ISN’T EXPECTED TO CHANGE ELECTION RESULTS. The Wisconsin elections commission chair said Monday that while the state is taking the necessary steps for an election recount, he does not expect it to change the state’s election results. "I fully expect, given the history of how elections are conducted in Wisconsin ... that the outcome is not going to be different" than the current results, said Mark Thomsen, chair of the state's elections commission, notes ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY. According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Donald Trump won the state with 1,404,000 votes and Hillary Clinton came in second with 1,381,823 votes, making a difference of 22,177 votes between the two. http://abcn.ws/2gPPgVV
ANALYSIS: IN WAR OVER SECRETARY OF STATE, A GLIMPSE INTO TRUMP'S GOVERNING STYLE. The battle over President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state is playing out with ferocity among circles of advisers behind closed doors, and then with equal vigor on Twitter and cable television. That makes it simultaneously the least surprising and most startling development surrounding the emerging Trump cabinet. On one level, it's to be expected. A candidate who valued loyalty above all is considering someone, in Mitt Romney, who showed open hostility to his candidacy. That move appears to have brought out the methods with which the campaign was waged into the fight for the job as the nation’s top diplomat, writes ABC’s RICK KLEIN. http://abcn.ws/2gPL2gW
WHO’S TWEETING?
@EWErickson: Prediction: the left will start burning flags in response to Trump tweet, thereby showing him how easily led they are.
@ChrisCuomo: Yes, clinton sponsored bill to punish flag burning. Almost passed. Law would've been unconstitutional. What is popular is not always right
@davidaxelrod: Pressing issue of the day? Best to ignore, unless & until it becomes something more than an AM red meat serving from Dr. Trump & Mr. Tweet.
@mlcalderone: Trump, who hasn’t held a news conference in over four months, has no incentive to defend his views when every tweet is breathlessly covered.
@frankthorp: Schumer on Rep Price as HHS Sec: "Nominating Congressman Price to be the HHS secretary is akin to asking the fox to guard the hen house.”