HHS Secretary Tom Price Resigns

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price resigned Friday, following reporting that revealed his travel expenses had added to over $1 million, often using private jets when cheaper modes of transportation likely would have sufficed. Price, who had the shortest tenure of any HHS secretary, adds to the list of Trump officials who have left the administration amid controversy, such as National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and FBI Director James Comey, to whom Trump issued an abrupt dismissal. Price, an ardent opponent of Obamacare, was selected in part to begin dismantling the program amid GOP repeal efforts.

Roy Moore Wins Alabama Senate Primary

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange in the Republican primary in Alabama for the special election triggered by Jeff Session’s resignation to become US attorney general. Moore defeated Luther 55-45% in the runoff, after coming in first in the primary in August. Luther was an appointee to fill Sessions’s seat until an election could be held.

Moore, who was noted for his refusals to remove the Ten Commandments from a courtroom or recognize the legality of same-sex marriage during his previous terms as chief justice (for both he was suspended by Alabama’s judiciary board), ran with the support of many of Trump’s supporters (such as Steve Bannon, Seb Gorka, and Nigel Farage), but not from Trump himself, who supported Strange. Though Trum is popular in Alabama, his support for Strange was not enough for his victory.

Trump has promised support for Moore in the general, which Moore has said he welcomes, and will face Democrat Doug Jones on December 12.