Ilhan Omar sums up the fate of Trump's cabinet with a simple emoji as defence secretary is 'terminated'

Trump fires his defence secretary weeks before he himself will have to vacate the White House

Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar greeted Monday’s news that defense secretary Mark Esper had been fired with a joking shrug on Twitter, writing, “They’re all getting replaced soon." But the Trump administration’s final 11 weeks in power could have deadly serious consequences.

For one thing, the president still maintains he won the election, even though major news outlets have called it for Mr Biden, and armed protesters around the country have already tried to challenge the results, leading to arrests.

Assuming the president concedes, president-elect Biden officially takes office on 20 January, but lawmakers have a pressing agenda of issues to resolve before that happens. Legislators, who arrived back in Washington on Monday to finish out the lame duck session, have until 11 December to agree on how to keep funding the government, risking another government shutdown during the Trump administration — this one during a resurgent pandemic. So far neither the president nor congressional leadership have outlined a viable compromise both parties would accept.

Other commentators have speculated that because of the numerous investigations Mr Trump will face once his tenure officially ends, he could attempt to pardon himself or others while he still has the power of the presidency. He could also destroy official records and try to sabotage the transition process.

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There’s also the matter of the coronavirus vaccine. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced on Monday that initial trials of its version had been 90 per cent effective. Potential doses could be available to the public as early as Christmas. The president has made repeated false statements about coronavirus, including that injecting bleach might be a potential cure, and has clashed with top public health officials like Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert.  Following the news, both the president and his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, have latched onto a conspiracy theory that experts and officials “knew” a vaccine was ready but didn’t tell the public as soon as possible because they didn’t want him to have a pre-election success.

Public trust in a vaccine will be crucial to its effectiveness in stopping a pandemic that has so far killed more than 237,000 Americans as the country enters a lethal “third wave” of the disease.

The White House is facing another round of coronavirus infections itself, meaning some of America’s top officials are once again at risk in an administration that often carelessly ignores medical guidance around mask-wearing and other covid precautions.

Others, like Independent correspondent Borzou Daragahi note an outgoing Trump administration could ratchet up sanctions on Iran and Lebanon, as well as try and discredit human rights organizations.

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