Attorney General Sessions Fired; Dems Flip the House; Post-Election Analysis

Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump’s request. He recused himself from oversight of the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. In a letter to Trump, Sessions wrote he had been “honored to serve as Attorney General” and had “worked to implement the law enforcement agenda based on the rule of law that formed a central part of your campaign for the presidency.” Trump tweeted that Sessions would be replaced on an acting basis by Matthew G. Whitaker, who had been serving as Sessions' chief of staff. “We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! ... A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date,” Trump tweeted. What's really going on here?

Voter turnout in the 2018 midterm elections appears to have surpassed previous midterms significantly, but it will be a while before we know the full numbers. An estimated 113 million people participated in the elections, making this the first midterm in history to exceed 100 million votes, with 49 percent of eligible voters participating in the contests. As a result, divided government returns to Washington, and the Democrats picked up seven governorships. What does this say about the president, the country and our politics?

The Democrats took the House and flipped seven governors' seats in Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Wisconsin and other states. As the leadership is expected to be organized, can the Democrats build from this towards 2020, or are they making the same mistakes they made in 2016? Have they learned anything? The Blue Wave only washed ashore on the House side of the beach and was smaller than the historic trend. Was the Blue Wave ever a reality, or was it just hype from talking heads?

GUESTS:

Dr. Khalilah Dean-Brown — Associate professor of political science at Quinnipiac University, political analyst, advisor and co-author of "50 Years of the Voting Rights Act: The State of Race in Politics.

Dr. Mamie Locke — Politician and educator. She was a member of the Hampton, Virginia, city council from 1996–2004, and mayor from 2000–2004. Since 2004, she has been a member of the Senate of Virginia from the second district and a professor of political science at Hampton University.

Dr. Pearl Ford-Dowe — Assistant professor of political science at the University of Arkansas and currently serves as chair. She has published numerous articles and book chapters that have appeared in journals such as the Journal of Black Studies; Presidential Studies Quarterly; Race Class & Gender; Political Psychology; Polity; and Social Science Quarterly.

Jon Jeter — Author and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist with more than 20 years of journalistic experience. He is a former Washington Post bureau chief and award-winning foreign correspondent.

Greg Palast — Author and award-winning investigative reporter featured in The Guardian, Nation Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine, BBC and other high profile media outlets.