Today in one sentence: The Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court; the White House’s science office ranked “ending the COVID-19 pandemic” atop the list of Trump’s top first-term accomplishments despite infections spreading across the U.S. at the fastest rate since the start of the pandemic; a federal judge ruled that the Justice Department can’t represent Trump in a defamation lawsuit because he wasn’t acting in his official capacity as president when he denied raping the writer E. Jean Carroll; and the Trump Organization has billed taxpayers at least $2.5 million in charges stemming from Trump's more than 280 visits to his own properties since taking office.

1/ The Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Justice Clarence Thomas administered the constitutional oath to Barrett, with Trump and several Republican senators. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. administered the judicial oath in a private ceremony at the court Tuesday. The Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Barrett – about a week before Election Day and 30 days after she was nominated by Trump to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (NPR / Washington Post / New York Times)

2/ The White House’s science office ranked “ending the COVID-19 pandemic” atop the list of Trump’s top first-term accomplishments despite infections spreading across the U.S. at the fastest rate since the start of the pandemic. The U.S. has averaged 71,000 new cases per day over the past week – the most in any seven-day stretch since the crisis started. The Office of Science and Technology Policy, however, credited the administration for taking “decisive actions to engage scientists and health professionals in academia, industry, and government to understand, treat, and defeat the disease.” COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen at least 10% in the past week in 32 states. (Politico / NBC News / CNBC / Bloomberg)

  • Minnesota reported three COVID-19 outbreaks related to Trump campaign events held in September. (CNN)

  • 😷 Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.”

  • Global: Total confirmed cases: ~43,823,000; deaths: ~1,165,000

  • U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~8,767,000; deaths: ~227,000

  • Source: Johns Hopkins University

  • 💻 COVID-19 Live Blogs: New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / CNBC

3/ The U.S. Postal Service argued that delivery delays during an election can’t be unlawful because the Constitution doesn’t guarantee states a level of service when it comes to mail-in ballots. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Trump are seeking dismissal of a lawsuit brought by states that claim disruptive changes at the USPS over the summer violated the Elections Clause of the Constitution by putting election mail at risk. Separately, the Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots in Wisconsin could be counted only if they are received by Election Day. (Bloomberg / CNN / Politico)

4/ A federal judge ruled that the Justice Department can’t represent Trump in a defamation lawsuit because he wasn’t acting in his official capacity as president when he denied raping the writer E. Jean Carroll. Last month, the Justice Department intervened on Trump’s behalf in the suit, asking to move the case to federal court and to substitute the U.S. government as the defendant. The department argued that Trump was “acting within the scope of his office as President of the United States” when he disputed Carroll’s allegations. (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / CNN)

5/ The Trump administration recently removed the chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last month, the administration removed the agency’s acting chief scientist, Craig McLean, replacing him with Ryan Maue, a former researcher for the libertarian Cato Institute who has criticized climate scientists for what he has called unnecessarily dire predictions. A former White House policy adviser was also appointed NOAA’s chief of staff. (New York Times)

6/ Trump is considering issuing an executive order to show support for fracking. The proposed order would direct government agencies to analyze fracking’s impact on the economy and trade, as well as the consequences if fracking was banned. (Wall Street Journal)

7/ The Trump Organization has billed taxpayers at least $2.5 million in charges stemming from Trump’s more than 280 visits to his own properties since taking office. In addition, Trump’s campaign and fundraising committee paid $5.6 million to his companies since his inauguration in January 2017. (Washington Post / Washington Post)

Three years ago today: Day 281: Significant concerns.