Good morning. I'm James Holman from the Washington Post and this is the Daily

202 for Tuesday, November 10th. In today's news, the Secretary of Defense's

termination underscores President Trump's

insistence on absolute loyalty. The chair of the Democratic

Congressional Campaign Committee steps aside after heavy losses, and Pfizer's vaccine could be cleared by mid

December. But first the big idea. Attorney General Bill Barr gave federal prosecutors the green light on Monday

to pursue any allegations of vote tabulation irregularities before results are certified.

He indicated that he has already done so in a few specific instances.

This major reversal of longstanding Justice Department policy drew widespread internal and external criticism

because it fuels unfounded claims of massive election fraud being pushed by Donald Trump.

Richard Pilger, the head of the Justice Department's election crimes branch,

stepped down from his position in protest over Barr's latest directive.

Sources tell Matt Zapatowski and Devlin Barrett that Barr first broached a similar idea some weeks ago and political leadership in the Justice

Department's criminal division of which the election crimes branches

apart pushed back hard. These same officials were blindsided last night when Barr's two-page memo went out.

Pilger emailed colleagues, quote,

Having familiarized myself with this new policy and its ramifications, I must regretfully resign.

Bar seemed to take aim at previous guidance from the Justice

Department's election crimes branch that said prosecutors should not in most instances

take overt steps in voter fraud or related investigations until after election results are in

and certified. This guidance was designed to ensure that voters and state and local election officials, rather than the federal government, get to decide the results, and that if prosecutors wanted to deviate from that norm,

they would at least first have to consult with public integrity prosecutors in the

...