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By Barbara Starr and Zachary Cohen, CNN

(CNN) -- US military commanders are anticipating that a formal order will be given by President Donald Trump as soon as this week to begin a further withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq before Trump leaves office on January 20, according to two US officials familiar.

The Pentagon has issued a notice to commanders known as a "warning order" to begin planning to drawdown the number of troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 troops and 2,500 in Iraq by Jan 15, the officials said. Currently there are approximately 4,500 US troops in Afghanistan and 3,000 troops in Iraq.

The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

While Monday's news indicates that the Pentagon appears ready to remove thousands more US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, it also suggests that Trump may fall short of fulfilling one of his core promises to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before he leaves office.

On October 7 Trump tweeted: "We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!"

Then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper sent a classified memo earlier this month to the White House asserting that it was the unanimous recommendation of the chain of command that the US not draw down its troop presence in Afghanistan any further until conditions were met, sources familiar with the memo tell CNN.

The assessment from the chain of command -- Esper, US Central Command leader Marine Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie and commander of NATO's mission in Afghanistan Gen. Austin Miller -- stated that the necessary conditions had not been met. Others agreed, sources tell CNN, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.

The memo is believed to have been one of the main reasons why Trump fired Esper last week.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not criticize Trump directly Monday while discussing the drawdown plans but warned of the potential ramifications of a rapid withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, saying it would "hurt our allies."

"We're playing a limited -- limited -- but important role in defending American national security and American interests against terrorists who would like nothing more than for the most powerful force for good in the world to simply pick up our ball and go home," he said in a speech from the Senate floor.

"There's no American who does not wish the war in Afghanistan against terrorists and their enablers had already been conclusively won," he said. "But that does not change the actual choice before us now. A rapid withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan now would hurt our allies and delight -- delight -- the people who wish us harm."

The decision to pull additional troops out of Iraq comes as the Trump administration has moved to reduce the US military's footprint there in recent months.

The US commander in the Middle East announced a drawdown of US troops in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 in September.

In March, US forces began pulling back from bases across Iraq, turning them over to Iraqi security partners. At the time, Pentagon officials insisted that the base hand-offs were part of a long-planned consolidation that reflected the success of the anti-ISIS fight -- not concerns over the ongoing rocket attacks by Iran-linked proxy militias.

US military officials have long stressed that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan should be conditions based, including the Taliban breaking its ties to al Qaeda and making progress in peace talks with the Afghan government, two conditions that have yet to be met.

But despite the lack of progress, the Trump administration has already substantially reduced US troops in the country by more than 50%, recently bringing the number of US military personnel there down to about 4,500, the lowest levels since the earliest days of the post 9/11 campaign.

Trump made bringing American troops home a theme of his reelection campaign but the future of US forces in Afghanistan has remained uncertain amid the mixed messages coming from the administration.

National security adviser Robert O'Brien has advocated for a more accelerated withdrawal from Afghanistan irrespective of conditions on the ground, something made more feasible by the installation of White House loyalists in senior defense posts.

Milley had pushed back on an earlier announcement from O'Brien suggesting an aggressive timeline for troop withdrawals that appeared to be irrespective of conditions.

"Robert O'Brien, or anyone else, can speculate as they see fit, I am not going to engage in speculation, I'm going to engage in the rigorous analysis of the situation based on the conditions and the plans that I'm aware of in my conversations with the President," Milley told NPR on October 11.

Sweeping changes at the Pentagon last week have put Trump loyalists in place and knowledgeable sources told CNN's Jake Tapper last week that the White House-directed purge at the Defense Department may have been motivated by the fact that former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and his team were pushing back on a premature withdrawal from Afghanistan that would be carried out before the required conditions on the ground were met.

Those changes included installing an ardent opponent of the US military's presence in Afghanistan, who once called for the use of lethal force against illegal immigrants and has made a litany of racist comments, as a senior adviser at the Pentagon.

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed Wednesday that retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor "will be serving as a Senior Advisor to the Acting Secretary of Defense. Mr. MacGregor's decades of military experience will be used to assist in the continued implementation of the President's national security priorities."

Macgregor has been a vocal opponent of the US military's mission in Afghanistan and has called for a total withdrawal of US troops and the American Embassy despite the continued presence of terrorist groups there.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky who is a strong advocate of withdrawing US troops welcomed the appointment.

"I am very pleased @realDonaldTrump asked my friend Col. Doug Macgregor to help quickly end the war in Afghanistan. This and other picks for Pentagon are about getting the right people who will finally help him stop our endless wars," Paul tweeted.

Trump also fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper last week in a tweet, replacing him with Christopher Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

In one of his first moves as acting Defense Secretary, Miller sent a seemingly contradictory message to the force on Friday, saying the US must continue its battle against al Qaeda and the terrorist forces behind 9/11 while also saying it was time to bring troops home.

"This war isn't over," Miller wrote in his message. "We are on the verge of defeating al Qaida and it's associates, but we must avoid our past strategic error of failing to see the fight through to the finish."

"Indeed, this fight has been long, our sacrifices have been enormous, and many are weary of war -- I'm one of them -- but this is the critical phase in which we transition our efforts from a leadership to supporting role," he wrote in reference to the current US role of supporting counterterrorism campaigns such as the one in Afghanistan.

"All wars must end. Ending wars requires compromise and partnership. We met the challenge; we gave it our all. Now, it's time to come home," Miller added.

O'Brien and US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad are expected to discuss the troop drawdown plans during a meeting Monday, two State Department officials told CNN.

Khalilizad recently returned to Washington from a trip to Turkey where he met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlt avuolu and other Turkish officials. They discussed mutual concerns about the levels of violence in Afghanistan, according to a readout from the State Department.

State Department officials knew it was possible Trump could order an additional troop drawdown in Afghanistan but did not know that the Pentagon had sent this warning order, two State Department officials said.

Some State Department officials believed that because Trump did not order further troop withdraws before the election it was unlikely that there would be more during the rest of his administration.

But last month Khalilizad said the conditions will dictate further withdrawals.

"If conditions are right, we are committed to withdrawing. But if the conditions are not right, we don't have to withdraw," Khalilizad said in an NPR interview at the time.

This story has been updated with additional reporting Monday.

The-CNN-Wire & 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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US military anticipates Trump will issue order to plan for further troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq - WDJT

In the wake of a Facebook ban and dimming electoral hopes for President Trump, the Stop the Steal movement is finding a home on smaller platforms and in-person rallies. A movement supporting Trumps false claims of election fraud and hoping to halt the ongoing vote-certification process, Stop the Steal groups are currently promoting pro-Trump rallies in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia, and organizing through platforms like Parler and Discord.

President Trump has the votes, wrote Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon supporter newly elected to Congress, on Parler. But the Democrats, Big Tech, and the Fake News Media are trying to STEAL this election. You and I cannot let that happen! This is the biggest VOTER FRAUD operation in American history...STOP THE STEAL. Greene has 16,000 followers on the app.

The Stop the Steal Facebook group, which launched on Wednesday, was filled with similar election misinformation about Democrats rigging the vote. It was organized by Republican operatives and had ties to the tea party, according to Mother Jones. The group grew to over 300,000 members in less than 48 hours only to be banned by Facebook once moderators caught on. Over that short period, the group became a central hub for election misinformation, leaving users to look for new places to organize in the wake of the ban.

Facebook and TikTok have also moved to block hashtags that were used to spread election conspiracy theories on Thursday, like #StoptheSteal. Twitter told The Verge that it was proactively monitoring them. Big Techs efforts to curb voting misinformation have led users to organize on different platforms. On YouTube, One American News Network (OANN) posted videos declaring that Trump won the election, which YouTube limited somewhat but did not block outright.

Organizers have found the most success on Parler, a social network designed for conservatives put off by moderation practices of the major platforms. On Thursday, there were 8,697 posts on Parler with the #StopTheSteal hashtag. Many of these posts also mentioned without evidence the silencing of conservatives on Facebook and Twitter. Videos of Stop the Steal protests got upwards of 2,000 votes (Parlers version of likes). The hashtag #VoterFraud had 18,426 posts, much of it focused on unfounded rumors regarding Democrats tampering with the vote.

The lax moderation standards have proved attractive for conservatives like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY) as well as former congressional candidate and right-wing conspiracist Laura Loomer who was previously banned on Twitter. The app, which launched in 2018, has added 4 million users this year, growing by 1 million in the past six weeks alone.

Parler differentiates itself from Facebook and Twitter in its refusal to moderate content the big tech platforms have banned, including hate speech and misinformation. The apps community guidelines prohibit unlawful acts but little else. A spokesperson for the app told The Verge that he believes users spreading misinformation will only damage their own reputation and does not believe in content moderation rules even for extreme content like Holocaust denial. I trust the system, he told The Verge, and dont worry about the outliers.

On Parler, the person with the handle @StopTheSteal shared unfounded rumors about voter fraud and urged followers to show up at Stop the Steal rallies across the United States. He also set up a Discord where users ranted about censorship on the big tech platforms, which does not actually exist, and promoted stop the count protests in Los Angeles and Norwalk, California.

At a rally at the capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump supporters carried signs reading Stop the Steal and waved American flags. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) joined the event, telling supporters, We want the ballots and the votes that are counted to be legal, to be valid. The comments insinuate this isnt the case although theres no evidence to support that viewpoint.

Some affiliated groups have been stoked by seasoned political operatives, although most have few firm ties to the Republican Party. Right Wing Watch reported this week that some Stop the Steal events trace back to a Roger Stone associate named Ali Alexander, who launched a similar but less successful campaign in 2018. Alexander said in a Periscope stream on Wednesday that he was organizing thousands and thousands and thousands of people to attend rallies in contested districts across the country.

Progressive groups seeking to encourage the continued counting of votes have also started to organize over social media. Count Every Vote rallies have been held in states like New York and Pennsylvania over the last few days. Larger coalitions, like Protect the Results, have not activated their over 150 groups into mobilization but said on Thursday that it remains vigilant.

As millions of votes are counted and with Joe Bidens lead in several key states growing, the Protect the Results coalition is announcing that it will not be activating the entire national mobilization network [Thursday], but remains ready to activate if necessary, the organization said in a statement on Thursday. While the coalition will not be activating its national network, some local organizers may still hold Count Every Vote events in their community.

The app has become particularly active during the week of the 2020 election, when Facebook and Twitter went to greater lengths to stamp out misinformation about the vote. SoCal Trump Train Events & Rallies, a Facebook group with 12,100 members, urged people to join them on Parler on Thursday in anticipation of getting shut down.

In a statement emailed to The Verge, a spokesperson for Discord said: We are aware of the server referenced. At this stage, it has not broken any of our community guidelines. More broadly, Discord is proactively monitoring our entire service for election mis- and dis-information that may lead to real-world harm. We take swift action when we become aware of these issues including banning users, servers, and when appropriate, contacting the proper authorities.

Update November 6th, 8:57PM ET: Article updated with statement from Discord.

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Stop the Steal spreads across the internet after infecting Facebook - The Verge

For immediate release

November 6, 2020Contact: U.S. Term LimitsPhone: (321) 428-4235Press@termlimits.com

Term Limits Tidal Wave as Record Number of Pledge Signers Elected to Congress

Washington, D.C. Even as ballot counting continues, a record number of term limits supporters have been elected to the U.S. Congress. U.S. Term Limits is proud to announce that at least 93 members of the incoming 117th Congress have taken the pledge to support a resolution to place term limits on Congress. With more votes still being counted and a few special elections on the horizon, that number is likely to increase.

Its a big deal. Nearly one hundred incoming Congress members have signed our term limits pledge promising to term limit Congress, says Stacey Selleck, Digital Director at U.S. Term Limits. Were optimistic about having bipartisan support on an amendment that focuses on the desperately needed election reform that term limits bring, Selleck added.

Lawmakers who signed the pledge were elected from nearly every state including many new signers in Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Tennessee. The states with the largest count of pledge signers are Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York. Incumbent senators who support the term limits resolution include Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey, Dan Crenshaw, Rand Paul and incoming senator Tommy Tuberville.

The U.S. Term Limits congressional pledge is provided to every announced candidate for federal office. It reads, I pledge that as a member of Congress, I will cosponsor and vote for the U.S. Term Limits amendment of three (3) House terms and two (2) Senate terms and no longer limit. The U.S. Term Limits constitutional amendment has been introduced in both the U.S. Senate by Senator Ted Cruz (SJR1) and the U.S. House by Representative Francis Rooney (HJR20).

Having Congress propose the amendment is just one path to a term limits victory. U.S. Term Limits is also working towards getting the state legislatures to propose the amendment. Once proposed, regardless of method, it must be ratified by 38 states in order to become the next amendment to the Constitution.

Our goal is to fix a broken seniority system by invigorating Congress with a diversity of experiences, says Selleck. This is a sharp contrast to the current Congress that has expertise being adept at political shenanigans depriving the country of true representation, Selleck concluded.

According toa 2018 nationwide poll on term limits conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, term limits enjoy wide bipartisan support. McLaughlins analysis states, Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 82% of voters approve of a constitutional amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress.

To see a list of the incoming Congressional pledge signers, visit https://www.termlimits.com/117thCongressPledgeSigners.pdf.

###

______________________U.S. Term Limits is the largest grassroots term limits advocacy group in the country. We connect term limits supporters with their legislators and work to pass term limits on all elected officials, particularly on the U.S. Congress. Find out more attermlimits.org.

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Term Limits Tidal Wave as Record Number of Pledge Signers Elected to Congress - U.S. Term Limits

Joe Biden won key several battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin. USA TODAY

After the Associated Press named former Vice President Joe Biden president-elect of the United States Saturday morning, several notable Kentucky figures took to Twitter to express their reactions.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, congratulated Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris Saturday afternoon.

"Congratulations to President-elect @JoeBiden and Vice President-elect @KamalaHarris. We will work with the incoming administration, as we have the current White House, to improve lives and opportunities for every Kentuckian," Beshear wrote.

He added: "Now, the election is over and it is time to come together as Americans and as Kentuckians. We are in the fight of our lifetime against COVID-19 and we must unite to battle this virus that has killed 235,000 Americans including more than 1,500 Kentuckians."

Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, a Democrat, congratulated Biden and Harris and noted the historical nature of this victory.

"Congratulations to President-elect@JoeBiden!" Coleman wrote. "America voted in record numbers, and this election is historically significant as Vice President-elect @KamalaHarris is the first woman and woman of color to win."

She also gave a shout-out to incoming First Lady Jill Biden: "I am also proud our incoming First Lady@DrBiden is a lifelong educator! In her, our children will have a strong advocate."

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, a Democrat representing Kentucky's Third CongressionalDistrict, which includes Louisville, said the win is a "BFD."

"Congratulations to President-Elect Joe Biden," Yarmuth said. "Im looking forward to serving with you again. Thank you, Joe, and thank you, Beau."

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer tweeted his congratulations to both Biden and Harris Saturday afternoon.

"America is best when we purposefully align our many diverse viewpoints around hope, compassion and opportunity," Fischer wrote."Congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris as they begin the good and noble work of unifying our great country."

State Rep. Charles Booker, a Louisville Democrat who narrowly lost the party's nomination for U.S. Senate this year, used a signature line of President Donald Trump from when he hosted NBC reality show, "The Apprentice."

'Youre fired. America," Booker wrote in a tweet.

From immigration to health care: How will a Biden presidency impact Kentucky?

Former Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath, who recently lost her bid to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, congratulated Biden, who gave a stump speech for her back in 2018 during her failed run against U.S. Rep. Andy Barr.

"Almost 10 months ago, I proudly endorsed Vice President @JoeBiden," McGrath wrote."Im proud to now call him President-Elect."

Sadiqa Reynolds, the head of the Louisville Urban League, tweeted out a photo of CNN calling the race for Biden with a chyron that reads "Joseph R. Biden Jr. Elected 46th President."

She then tweeted out a photo ofHarris, thefirstfemale,first BlackandfirstSouth Asian person to be named vice president-elect.

"The Voting Rights Act was 55 years ago," Reynolds wrote on the tweet of Harris' photo

Kentucky Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey, a Louisville Democrat, wrote: "I had no idea the emotions I would feel when it became final.

"Congratulations President-elect @JoeBidenand Vice President-elect @KamalaHarris!!!" he said.

Aaron Jordan,a leader of the grassroots group No Justice No PeaceLouisville that has been demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman shot by police in her own apartment on March 13, wrote in a Facebook group for the group that "WE DID IT MFS."

"BLACK VOTES MATTER!!" SHT AT THIS POINT EVERY MF BODY VOTE MATTERS" Jordan wrote. "NO MORE TRUMP!!! OMG WE CAN WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE!!!!

Hannah Drake, a Louisville activist, poet and author, wrote in a tweet that "clearly we have A LOT of work to do in this nation."

"But for the past four years to deal with the President and his racism. His tweets calling Africa a place with shithole countries. Knowing as a Black woman the President disregards my life.

"He emboldened so many racists," Drake wrote in a separate tweet."We had to live EVERY DAY listening reading and dealing w/ hate. And Covid. The lies that cost so many lives. You never knew from day to day what you would wake up to. Do we have work to do? YES! But my God I am glad that racist is out of OUR HOUSE!"

F. Bruce Williams, a seniorpastor atBates Memorial Baptist Church in Louisville, wrote that "history has been made."

Williams also looked ahead in his tweet to the Kentucky U.S. Senate race in 2022, when U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican, is up for reelection.

"(Charles Booker)you are going to make history too when we put you in the Senate," Williams wrote."Its time for change!!!"

State Rep. Kelly Flood, a Democrat from Lexington, posted a photo from CNN calling the race for Biden Saturday morning.

"#PresidentElectJoe #VicePresidentElectHarris November 7th, 2020, 11:30a! Character matters!" Flood wrote.

This story will update.

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Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.comand502-377-5675 or follow on Twitter @Ben__Tobin.

Read or Share this story: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/07/elections-2020-kentuckians-react-call-president-elect-joe-biden/6202938002/

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How some Kentucky leaders are reacting to Joe Biden being named president-elect of the U.S. - Courier Journal

Congressional lawmakers from both major parties are transfixed on the post-election vote count drama, witnesses to extraordinary living history.For some of them, wary of running afoul of the president and badgered by a persistent media, there is a hesitancy to react in any sort of substantive, at-length way.President Donald Trump's assertion that the election is being stolen from him was media topic one, two, three and four for Kentucky's Mitch McConnell in Frankfort this morning. With a wry smile, he patiently responded in pretty much the same way each time he was asked if he agreed with the president's claims."I think what I said in the tweet this morning," he said, meaning read the tweet and you'll have my answer.When asked what he would do if the president refused to accept the results, McConnell said, "I'm not going to answer any hypotheticals about where we go from here. I think this is ultimately going to be decided exactly what I said in my tweet."The final line of McConnell's tweet reads, "the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes."Trumpism and disputes seem inextricably linked.Pundits see the battle with Joe Biden as leaving an electorate rawly-divided by toxic politics, split apart with suspicion, distrust and anger. They believe Senate bipartisanship is likely doomed as a result.We asked two seasoned hands of differing persuasions how they did it -- Democrat David Pepper, a state party chair, and Republican Bill Seitz, a state representative, collaborated on legislation back when Pepper was a Hamilton County Commissioner.The issue involved inmates losing Medicaid coverage when they entered the prison system.Pepper thought it was a self-defeating situation to have someone serve time and emerge from jail to find themselves knocked off Medicaid.He contacted Seitz who began working on legislation to only suspend Medicaid coverage during the time an inmate was serving his or her sentence. Once completed, the coverage would pick back up under Statehouse legislation that was approved with bipartisan support.It's the kind of thing, as both men noted, that does not generate headlines but has profound positive impact on the lives of thousands of people over time. Both have had impact on Ohio's voting process and Seitz cited six changes the Republican-led Ohio Legislature got approved that have helped the state avoid the type of election season problems some other states are now having.Lessons from 2020? "Polling is about as good as a Ouija board," said Seitz.Pepper took hyper-partisanship to the task."I mean, for goodness sakes, the American people are so tired of watching a Senate that does nothing," he told us.Majority Leader McConnell said it's too soon to know if he'll still have that title after two Georgia runoff's in January.Kentucky's other Senator, Rand Paul, tweeted, "Policing postmarks, signatures and fraud is now overwhelming because half the electorate votes by mail."McConnell told reporters Friday he talks with the president frequently, but wouldn't elaborate on what they talked about in regard to the current situation. And he would not relent when pressed on the rigged election claim."It won't make any difference how many times you ask," McConnell said again, "I've already given you my answer."In a written statement, Second District Congressman Brad Wenstrup, easily re-elected Tuesday night, reacted by saying: "To ensure that we have fair elections, we must ensure all LEGAL votes are counted with complete transparency. The processes that are taking place in certain states today, understandably, leave so much room for doubt especially when Americans have many reasons to be doubtful. The President, as well as any candidate running for office, is entitled to and should challenge all instances of impropriety so that Americans can be confident in the outcome of our elections. Finally, we should be happy that, here in Ohio, our process was fair, accessible, transparent, and completed on time."Ohio Sen. Rob Portman tweeted, "once the final count has been completed, we will abide by the results, as we always have as Americans."

Congressional lawmakers from both major parties are transfixed on the post-election vote count drama, witnesses to extraordinary living history.

For some of them, wary of running afoul of the president and badgered by a persistent media, there is a hesitancy to react in any sort of substantive, at-length way.

President Donald Trump's assertion that the election is being stolen from him was media topic one, two, three and four for Kentucky's Mitch McConnell in Frankfort this morning. With a wry smile, he patiently responded in pretty much the same way each time he was asked if he agreed with the president's claims.

"I think what I said in the tweet this morning," he said, meaning read the tweet and you'll have my answer.

When asked what he would do if the president refused to accept the results, McConnell said, "I'm not going to answer any hypotheticals about where we go from here. I think this is ultimately going to be decided exactly what I said in my tweet."

The final line of McConnell's tweet reads, "the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes."

Trumpism and disputes seem inextricably linked.

Pundits see the battle with Joe Biden as leaving an electorate rawly-divided by toxic politics, split apart with suspicion, distrust and anger. They believe Senate bipartisanship is likely doomed as a result.

We asked two seasoned hands of differing persuasions how they did it -- Democrat David Pepper, a state party chair, and Republican Bill Seitz, a state representative, collaborated on legislation back when Pepper was a Hamilton County Commissioner.

The issue involved inmates losing Medicaid coverage when they entered the prison system.

Pepper thought it was a self-defeating situation to have someone serve time and emerge from jail to find themselves knocked off Medicaid.

He contacted Seitz who began working on legislation to only suspend Medicaid coverage during the time an inmate was serving his or her sentence. Once completed, the coverage would pick back up under Statehouse legislation that was approved with bipartisan support.

It's the kind of thing, as both men noted, that does not generate headlines but has profound positive impact on the lives of thousands of people over time.

Both have had impact on Ohio's voting process and Seitz cited six changes the Republican-led Ohio Legislature got approved that have helped the state avoid the type of election season problems some other states are now having.

Lessons from 2020?

"Polling is about as good as a Ouija board," said Seitz.

Pepper took hyper-partisanship to the task.

"I mean, for goodness sakes, the American people are so tired of watching a Senate that does nothing," he told us.

Majority Leader McConnell said it's too soon to know if he'll still have that title after two Georgia runoff's in January.

Kentucky's other Senator, Rand Paul, tweeted, "Policing postmarks, signatures and fraud is now overwhelming because half the electorate votes by mail."

McConnell told reporters Friday he talks with the president frequently, but wouldn't elaborate on what they talked about in regard to the current situation. And he would not relent when pressed on the rigged election claim.

"It won't make any difference how many times you ask," McConnell said again, "I've already given you my answer."

In a written statement, Second District Congressman Brad Wenstrup, easily re-elected Tuesday night, reacted by saying: "To ensure that we have fair elections, we must ensure all LEGAL votes are counted with complete transparency. The processes that are taking place in certain states today, understandably, leave so much room for doubt especially when Americans have many reasons to be doubtful. The President, as well as any candidate running for office, is entitled to and should challenge all instances of impropriety so that Americans can be confident in the outcome of our elections. Finally, we should be happy that, here in Ohio, our process was fair, accessible, transparent, and completed on time."

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman tweeted, "once the final count has been completed, we will abide by the results, as we always have as Americans."

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Local lawmakers respond to allegations of voter fraud - WLWT Cincinnati