Mandates to Govern, The EPA Under Trump, Artist Robert Glasper

Coming up on today’s show:

• Hillary Clinton is now leading Donald Trump by more than 2.7 million in the popular vote. In a system where half the country doesn’t vote, what constitutes a mandate to govern? Newton Minow, an American attorney, vice chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates and former chair of the FCC, weighs in. 

• On Tuesday, lawmakers in Ohio approved a bill that bans abortion as early as six weeks after conception. If approved, the law would represent one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, though Governor John Kasich has questioned in the past whether such a bill would be constitutional. Jennifer Branch, a civil rights attorney and partner at Gerhardstein and Branch, a law firm representing many of the abortion providers in Ohio, discusses the bill and abortion law in Ohio.  

• On Wednesday, President-elect Trump tapped Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA. Pruitt is currently waging a legal battle against President Obama’s climate change policies and is a longtime ally of the fossil fuel industry. Jeff Holmstead, former assistant administrator for air and radiation at the EPA, analyzes the impact of Pruitt’s selection. 

• Retired Marine General John Kelly was picked to lead the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, a key post in Trump’s administration following his campaign promise to crack down on immigration and build a wall. What can we expect out of Gen. Kelly? For answers, we turn to Alan Cohn, who served in several senior policy positions at the Department of Homeland Security from 2006-2015.

• Actress and singer Leslie Uggams has been in show business since the age of six, when she first appeared on TV. Since then, she’s moved seamlessly between film, television, and theater. Uggams is a cultural pioneer, winning a Tony award for her Broadway debut in “Hallelujah, Baby!”, and becoming the first African American woman to host her own TV variety show in 1970. She joins The Takeaway to discuss black representation in entertainment. 

• Grammy winning jazz pianist Robert Glasper put out a new album, “ArtScience,” in September with his group, The Robert Glasper Experiment. He reflects on his we work and creative process today on The Takeaway.