Keilar calls out GOP senator rattled by Biden's OMB pick
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What you need to know
President-elect Joe Biden formally introduced key members of his economic team tasked with Covid-19 recovery. Here’s who else could serve in top roles.
The Justice Department hasn’t found evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of the election, Attorney General William Barr said in an interview with the Associated Press.
President Trump meanwhile has yet to concede and his legal defeats continue to pile up.
Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the Biden transition here.
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Discussions are underway for event on Trump's future plans
From CNN's Jim Acosta
There have been discussions about a potential event on President Trump’s future plans, a Trump campaign adviser said.
That event could be scheduled around Inauguration Day, the adviser said. Trump is expected to hint at a run for 2024, leaving the door open to a comeback campaign.
The adviser said campaign officials and people close to Trump have been overwhelmed by the fundraising they’ve done since the election. The adviser also added Trump has indicated he wants to run again.
It’s also been noted inside Trump’s circle of advisers how he still maintains an incredible grip over the party as GOP lawmakers have been hesitant to recognize Joe Biden as President-elect.
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Pennsylvania congressman files longshot petition with Supreme Court seeking to nullify certification
From CNN's Ariane de Vogue
Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly has filed a longshot petition asking the Supreme Court to nullify the certification of Pennsylvania election results.
Kelly is challenging the Commonwealth’s “no-excuse” absentee ballot scheme that was passed in October 2019.
It is the latest petition from Republicans still seeking to challenge the election and it faces steep odds at the Supreme Court, particularly because the dispute turns on issues of state law. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed the challenge last weekend holding that Kelly and others failed to file their challenge in a timely manner.
“It is beyond cavil that petitioners failed to act with due diligence” in presenting the case, the court held noting that they filed the suit more than one year after the enactment of the law at issue.
The new emergency petition will be filed with Justice Samuel Alito who has jurisdiction over the Pennsylvania courts. He will likely refer it to the whole court. It has not yet officially been received by the clerk’s office.
Election law expert Rick Hasen of the University of California Irvine notes that Kelly is seeking an order to nullify the effect of the certification of elections but that “it is not clear that this kind of remedy is even available.”
Lawyers for Kelly argue that Pennsylvania’s General Assembly “exceeded its powers by unconstitutionally allowing no-excuse absentee voting, including for federal offices, in the Election.”
They argue that the legislature’s move violated both the Pennsylvania Constitution and the US Constitution. “Because the Pennsylvania Constitution has not been amended,” they argued, “the legislative efforts to authorize no-excuse mail-in voting are fatally defective and inherently unconstitutional.”
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Trump campaign files election lawsuit in Wisconsin
From CNN's Samira Said
The Trump campaign filed a long-shot lawsuit in the Wisconsin Supreme Court today, seeking to remove over 221,000 votes from Wisconsin’s certified presidential election vote total. The Wisconsin Supreme Court must accept the case in order for it to go forward.
The campaign alleges that the recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties uncovered “serious legality issues” in the way ballots were cast and counted, specifically in absentee voting in the state.
The case does not make any claims regarding election fraud.
Similar lawsuits to throw out votes in other battleground states have been unsuccessful.
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Senate Republicans express confidence in Barr, but few are willing to call out Trump on baseless fraud claims
From CNN's Manu Raju
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham presides over a hearing about the influence of social media companies on the 2020 election in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 17, in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Senate Republicans are expressing confidence in Attorney General William Barr after he said in an interview published today that there was no widespread evidence of voter fraud that would change the outcome of the election.
Asked if Trump should drop his claims of mass election fraud, Graham said, “I think he should be specific about his claims. I think if dead people are voting, what state and how many.”
Reminded that the President’s team has yet to detail mass fraud, Graham added, “Well that’s what they need to do.”
Sen. John Cornyn, a member of Senate Judiciary and who sits on the leadership team, said of Barr: “I trust him.”
But Republicans are showing little willingness to call out the President.
“I’m not going to be one that may short circuit any legal remedies they have,” Sen. Thom Tillis, a member of Senate Judiciary who just won a hard-fought reelection in North Carolina, said when asked if it were time for Trump to hang it up after Barr’s determination.
And Sen. Ron Johnson, who currently chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told CNN that he wants to continue to investigate “irregularities.”
“I think there’s enough irregularities, there are enough questions, enough suspicions that in order to come to the final results of the facts, so that hopefully the vast majority of Americans are satisfied with the result,” Johnson said. “Maybe Bill Barr is. Because he’s probably got more access to information than I have, then he should show everybody.”
Asked if he’s not satisfied with Barr’s conclusion, Johnson added, “I think there is still enough questions outstanding.”
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Attorney General Barr is meeting with White House chief of staff
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Evan Perez
In this Oct. 15, 2020, file photo Attorney General William Barr speaks during a roundtable discussion on Operation Legend, a federal program to help cities combat violent crime in St. Louis.
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
Attorney General William Barr is in the West Wing for a meeting with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, an official tells CNN.
The meeting was pre-planned before his interview with the Associated Press.
Barr said in the interview published Tuesday that the Justice Department hasn’t found evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of last month’s presidential election.
Barr, who prior to the election echoed President Trump’s claims that mail-in voting wasn’t secure, said both the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security have looked into claims of fraud and have come up empty.
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Trump's legal team criticizes Justice Department after Barr says no evidence of widespread election fraud
From CNN's Jason Hoffman
Moments after Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department has not found evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of last month’s presidential election, President Trump’s legal team responded, criticizing the Department of Justice.
“We have gathered ample evidence of illegal voting in at least six states, which they have not examined. We have many witnesses swearing under oath they saw crimes being committed in connection with voter fraud. As far as we know, not a single one has been interviewed by the DOJ,” the statement continued.
The statement concludes by claiming Barr has no knowledge and there has been no investigation into the “substantial irregularities and evidence of systemic fraud.”
There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the election, as Barr said in his interview with the AP.
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McConnell dodges when asked why he's been quiet on Trump's false election claims
From CNN's Manu Raju and Clare Foran
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dodged when asked by CNN’s Manu Raju why he has not spoken out amid President Trump’s false claims that the election was rigged and stolen from him.
In his response, McConnell suggested that the outcome of the presidential election still has not been determined, but argued that he is not focused on the result and is instead focused on what Congress will do during the rest of the lame duck session.
“As I’ve said repeatedly, we have this government for the next three weeks for sure, and what I’m focusing on is trying to accomplish as much as we can during this three week period, which requires dealing with the government that we have right now,” McConnell said.
Attorney General William Barr said in an interview with the Associated Press published Tuesday that the Justice Department hasn’t found evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of last month’s presidential election.
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Barr says no evidence of widespread fraud in presidential election
From CNN's Evan Perez
U.S. Attorney General William Barr exits the U.S. Capitol Building on Monday, November 9, in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Attorney General William Barr says the Justice Department hasn’t found evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of last month’s presidential election.
Barr, who prior to the election echoed President Trump’s claims that mail-in voting wasn’t secure, says both the Justice Department and the Homeland Security Department have looked into claims of fraud and come up empty.
“There’s been one assertion that would be systemic fraud and that would be the claim that machines were programmed essentially to skew the election results,” Barr said. “And the DHS and DOJ have looked into that, and so far, we haven’t seen anything to substantiate that.”
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Biden says he hasn't spoken to McConnell yet
From CNN’s Sarah Mucha
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden departs after a press conference at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 1.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
As President-elect Joe Biden exited The Queen theater following his event announcing his economic team in Wilmington, Delaware, he answered a few shouted questions from the pool from afar before he got into his SUV.
He said that he hasn’t yet spoken to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Not yet,” Biden said when asked if he’s spoken to McConnell.
Asked whether he supports the $900 billion stimulus proposal, he replied, “I’ve just heard about it. I’ll take a look at it when I get back.”
Biden did not answer a shouted question about whether he plans to go to Georgia to campaign ahead of the Senate runoff.
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The door is closing on Biden choosing nominees from Congress
From MJ Lee and Jeff Zeleny
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden announces his economic team at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 1.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to announce more key appointments to his administration, the door is closing on the prospect of tapping a nominee from one of his most cherished places in Washington: the halls of Congress.
Inside his transition team, there is a real recognition of how difficult it would be to choose a Senate Democrat for any role, given how closely divided the upper chamber will be next year.
And the narrowing Democratic majority in the House has made it far less likely that he would be able to easily turn to any House members for posts in the administration.
Multiple sources familiar with the transition say that regardless of what happens in the two Senate runoff races in Georgia next month – where even in the best case for Democrats, the Senate would be split evenly with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote – the bar would be extremely high for Biden to appoint a Senate Democrat to an administration role and take them out of Congress.
What Biden has indicated to allies is that “it would be really, really hard to take someone out of the Senate because the margin is so slim, no matter what happens in Georgia,” one source said. He echoed that sentiment in his interview with NBC News last month.
It certainly doesn’t mean there is no chance that Biden would do it – but it would need to be for the right person and for the right job, and if the person hails from a state where their Senate replacement would be appointed by a governor who guaranteed naming another Democrat. And in the House, even in a safe Democratic district, a vacancy could complicate close votes before a special election could be held.
We’ve already seen the effects of that political calculation. As CNN reported earlier this week, Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth was in the mix for the defense secretary job, but is now longer getting a serious look given Biden’s reluctance to create any vacancies in the Senate.
Alabama Sen. Doug Jones is under consideration for attorney general, but Jones lost his seat last month and is leaving the Senate. The only two remaining Democratic senators in the mix for positions appear to be New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall for Interior secretary and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for Labor secretary, although Republicans have said prospects for confirmation are slim.
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Biden introduced top members of his economic team today. Here are key lines from their speeches.
Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen speaks after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden announced his economic team at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 1.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden unveiled the top members of his economic team this afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware. They will be tasked with leading the incoming administration’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The nominees outlined their vision of the US economy and their role. Here’s some of what they had to say:
Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury nominee
Yellen said that the nation is “facing historic crises” like those the US saw during the Great Recession.
Yellen said “it is essential we move with urgency” to address the economic problems in America today.
“Inaction will produce self reinforcing downturn causing yet more devastation,” the nominee added.
If confirmed, Yellen would be the first woman to be treasury secretary.
Neera Tanden, Director of the Office of Management and Budget nominee
Tanden said it is her “profound honor to help shape the budgets and programs to keep lifting Americans up, to pull families back from the brink, to give everybody the fair chance my mom got, and that every single person deserves.”
“That’s the America they were drawn to, the America the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect are ready to grow,” the nominee added.
Tanden noted that as Vice President-elect Harris, her mother also was born in India and immigrated to the US to pursue a better life.
If confirmed, the nominee would be the first woman of color and first South Asian American to oversee the office.
Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury nominee
Adeyamo said he looks forward to working at Treasury with Janet Yellen “to reduce inequality in this country, expand the middle class, make sure we build an economy that works for everyone.”
He said the country “must also remain laser focused” in the treasury department’s role in “protecting national security.”
He said, “The challenges before us today are unlike anything we have ever faced.”
If confirmed, Adeyemowould be the first Black deputy Treasury Secretary.
Cecilia Rouse, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers nominee
Rouse said that the country is facing a moment of urgency and opportunity, unlike any we faced in modern times.”
Jared Bernstein, selected as member of the Council of Economic Advisers
Bernstein said the Biden-Harris economic agenda is ‘“timely, resonant, and visionary.”
He added that the US must create an economy “that’s far more resilient, far more fair, and far more inclusive.”
Heather Boushey, selected as member of the Council of Economic Advisers
Boushey said she’s dedicated her career to figuring out how we can grow and sustain the middle class.”
She said the American economy should “uproot the gender barriers and racial barriers that leave too many Americans outside the dream looking in.”
Biden pledged that his diverse team will create a recovery “for everybody” to get the economy moving again and promised that “help is on the way.”
“It includes groundbreaking Americans who come from different backgrounds but who share my core vision for relief here in the United States of America,” Biden continued.
Yesterday, Biden made the long-expected announcement of Janet Yellen as treasury secretary along with three other women in top roles on a diverse team that will be tasked with helping lead Biden’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic and meet the former vice president’s campaign promises of narrowing economic disparities.
If confirmed, Yellen would be the first woman to be treasury secretary.
Among the other barrier-breaking nominees Biden announced is Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, president of the Obama Foundation in Chicago, for deputy Treasury Secretary, serving under Yellen. If confirmed, he would be the first Black deputy Treasury Secretary. Biden also named Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget. If confirmed, she would be the first woman of color and first South Asian American to oversee it.
Harris declared “this is the right team for this moment,” and thanked all for their continued government service.
Here’s a look at the list of nominations and appointments:
Janet Yellen: Nominated to serve as Secretary of the Treasury.
Neera Tanden: Nominated to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Wally Adeyemo: Nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
Cecilia Rouse: Nominated to serve as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Jared Bernstein: Selected as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Heather Boushey: Selected as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
The President-elect called on Congress to pass a “robust package” for relief but urged that anything passed during the lame duck session will almost certainly at best be “just a start.”
“Let’s begin the work to heal, to unite, to rebuild an economy for all Americans. They deserve and expect nothing less,” Biden said.
Soon: Biden and Harris will introduce economic team in Delaware
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny and Kate Sullivan
US President-elect Joe Biden arrives for an event at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 1,
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will formally introduce key members of their economic team shortly at an event in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden made the long-expected announcement of Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary yesterday along with three other women in top roles on a diverse team that will help him navigate the nation’s punishing fiscal headwinds in hopes of building an economic recovery.
They will also be tasked with the Biden-Harris administration’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Second half of Biden's economic team will be unveiled in the coming days
From CNN’s Jeff Zeleny
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks during her last news conference in office in Washington DC, on December 13, 2017.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden is formally introducing his economic team shortly in Delaware, with Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, OMB Director and the Council of Economic Advisers expected to stand on stage with him in Wilmington.
But today’s announcement is only one part of his economic team. Biden has settled on Brian Deese to lead the National Economic Council, people familiar with the transition tell CNN, and is still making final decisions on US Trade Representative, Commerce Secretary and others posts. Those announcements will be made in the coming days, transition officials say.
So what’s the difference between the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council? A simple way to look at the CEA is “the president’s think tank on the economy.”
Cecilia Rouse, who will be nominated to lead the CEA, will be joined by Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey. The three-member Council of Economic Advisers was formed in 1946 to give economic advice to the president.
The National Economic Council was formed in 1993, during the Clinton administration, to coordinate policy across the government. It does not require Senate confirmation like the CEA.
As CNN reported on Sunday, Deese will play a lead role in implementing economic policy of the Biden administration. He is a veteran of the Obama-Biden administration, leading the auto rescue package and the economic recovery act. He was elevated through the ranks from deputy director of the NEC to deputy director of OMB. He played a key role in the Paris climate accords in 2015.
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Schumer says he'll meet with 2 of Biden's nominees today
From CNN's Ali Main
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wears a protective mask while arriving at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC, on Monday, November 30, 2020.
Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will meet Tuesday with two of President-elect Joe Biden’s top nominees, a sign Democrats are pressing forward with the transition process even as key Senate Republicans are holding back from calling Biden the President-elect.
Schumer said he would meet via video chat with Antony Blinken and Avril Haines, Biden’s respective intended nominees for Secretary of State and Director of National Intelligence —which require Senate confirmations — to discuss “how to repair some of the damage to America’s reputation and relationships abroad done by the past administration.”
This comes during Schumer’s push for the Senate to hold confirmation hearings for Biden’s nominees immediately after the Jan. 5 Georgia runoff elections, which will determine the chamber’s balance of power.
The New York Democrat was again critical of his Republican colleagues’ resistance to Neera Tanden, Biden’s choice to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
He pointed out that GOP senators confirmed President Trump’s own OMB Director Russell Vought’s nomination, despite his involvement in the Ukraine scandal that led to the President’s impeachment and controversial rhetoric about Muslims.
“The Republican majority confirmed him, despite these inflammatory comments and despite his conduct as an interim director and despite his career as a partisan warrior. But a few critical tweets about substantive policy positions have caused Senate Republicans to label Miss Tanden’s nomination quote ‘radioactive.’ Spare us the hyperbole,” Schumer said.
The Senate minority leader also called for Congress to pass bipartisan coronavirus relief legislation.
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Biden's inauguration is next month. Here are key dates to watch from now until then.
From CNN's Zachary B. Wolf, Will Muller and Kevin Liptak
President-elect Joe Biden delivers a Thanksgiving address at the Queen Theatre on November 25, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Mark Makela/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration is just 50 days away, and preparations have begun on what likely will be a scaled back event due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The transition has now started, and members of Trump’s administration are talking to the Biden team about what to expect when they enter office in January.
Trump meanwhile has declined to offer a timeline for when he might ease up his losing battle to overturn the election results and has not said whether he will attend Biden’s inauguration.
Here’s a look at some key dates from now until Inauguration Day:
Dec. 8
“Safe harbor” to determine election results and assign electors: Under the Electoral Count Act, this is the date by which states are meant to have counted votes, settled disputes, and determined the winner of their electoral college votes. Governors are supposed to create certificates of ascertainment listing the winner of the election and the slate of electors. In 2000, the Supreme Court ended a targeted recount in Florida because it could not be completed by this safe harbor date. That recount would not have changed the outcome of the election, but a full statewide recount could have made Al Gore president. This is when it could become very important for Republicans that they control more state legislatures than Democrats, including in most of the contested 2020 battleground states.
Dec. 14
Electoral votes cast: In law this date is the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. This year it falls on December 14. Six days after disputes are supposed to be settled, electors are supposed to meet in their respective states and cast votes for US President. They certify six sets of votes and send them to Washington. Many states have laws requiring their electors to support the winner of their state’s election and can levy fines against faithless electors who go their own way.
Dec. 23
Electoral votes must arrive in Washington: The certified electoral votes have nine days to get from their states to Capitol Hill.
Jan. 3
New Congress is sworn in: Members of the House and new members of the Senate take the oath of office at noon. This is the official start of the 117th Congress.
Jan. 6
Electoral votes counted: Members of the House and the Senate all meet in the House chamber. The President of the Senate (that’s Vice President Mike Pence) presides over the session and the Electoral votes are read and counted in alphabetical order by two appointees each from the House and Senate. They then give their tallies to Pence, who announces the results and listens for objections. If there are objections or if there are, somehow, multiple slates of electors put forward by a state, the House and Senate consider them separately to decide how to count those votes.There are 538 electoral votes — one for each congressman and senator plus three for Washington, DC. If no candidate gets 270, the 435 members of the House decide the election. Each state gets a vote. The House has until noon on Jan. 20 to pick the President. If they can’t, it would be the vice president or the next person eligible in the line of presidential succession.
Jan. 20
Inauguration Day: A new president takes the oath of office at noon. In a disputed election, if the House has not chosen a President but the Senate has chosen a vice president, the vice president-elect becomes acting president until the House makes a choice. And if there’s no president-elect and no vice president-elect, the House appoints a president until one is chosen.
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More than 940,000 absentee ballot have been requested in Georgia for the Senate runoff
From CNN's Caroline Kelly, Jason Morris, Ethan Cohen and Tori Apodaca
Gabriel Sterling, the Voting Systems Manager for the Georgia Secretary of State's office, answers questions during a press conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 6. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
More than 940,000 mail-in ballots have been requested in Georgia for the January 5 runoff election that will decide which party controls the Senate, Gabriel Sterling, the state’s voting systems implementation manager, said Monday.
That includes 604,255 people who are eligible to receive mail-in ballots automatically, according to Sterling. For comparison, 1,322,529 absentee ballots were cast in November’s general election, according to a release from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
Sterling said that 1,040 ballots have been returned so far, a “small trickle that we expect to get larger soon.”
Republicans are struggling to encourage voters to back incumbent Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue as President Donald Trump continues to cast doubt on the results of the presidential election.
If either of the incumbent Republicans hold onto their seats, the party will retain its majority control in the chamber. If Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock both prevail, however, Democrats would gain control of the Senate thanks to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
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Humanitarian aid group urges Biden to devote an additional $20 billion to fight Covid-19 globally
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq
An aerial view of victims of the COVID pandemic buried at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, on November 21.
Michael Dantas/AFP via Getty Images
The International Rescue Committee (IRC), a global humanitarian aid nongovernmental organization, has urged the new Biden-Harrisadministration in its first 100 days “to devote an additional $20 billion to the fight against COVID-19 globally.”
This additional money will help “stem the immediate impact of the virus on lives and livelihoods amongst the world’s most vulnerable,” according to Elinor Raikes, vice president and head of program Delivery at ICR, in a statement released Tuesday.
“President-Elect Biden must take urgent and expansive action to reverse these devastating trends, returning the US to global humanitarian leadership and galvanizing the international community into much-needed humanitarian action,” Raikes added.
Biden has actively stresses that battling the coronavirus pandemic is a priority of his incoming administration and he appointed a Transition Covid-19 Advisory Board.
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Biden's inauguration is in 50 days. Here are the key priorities of his first 100 days in office.
From CNN's Gregory Krieg, MJ Lee and Sarah Mucha
President-elect Joe Biden introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments at the Queen Theatre, on November 24, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Mark Makela/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden and his transition team are preparing for an early, all-out push to pass an ambitious new stimulus bill, while also drawing up plans for a flurry of executive actions aimed at delivering on campaign promises and undoing the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine key government agencies.
Biden will be inaugurated in January with a pressing mandate to confront simultaneous and interwoven public health, economic and racial crises. At the same time, his team will take over the work of spearheading one of the most complicated, politically fraught mass vaccination campaigns in American history.
Biden’s agenda for his first 100 days in office will, according to both those close to him and outside groups in contact with his top aides, center on two key avenues of action:
The passage of a broad economic aid package
A series of executive actions aimed at advancing his priorities where legislation is not necessary.
Containing the Covid-19 pandemic, launching an economic recovery and tackling racial inequality are his most urgent priorities, transition officials say.
The scope of stimulus legislation will likely turn on the results of the Senate run-offs in Georgia in early January, a little more than two weeks before Biden is inaugurated.
If either Democrat fails to unseat their GOP incumbent rivals, and the body remains under the thumb of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, Biden’s ambitions will be checked from the outset. The immigration legislation Biden said he plans to send to the Congress within his first 100 days would likely be dead on arrival.
But sources familiar with internal discussions stressed that getting a grip on the surging coronavirus crisis is far and away Biden’s top concern. Until that happens, one of the sources said, the President-elect’s wider legislative agenda is likely to take a backseat.
Read more here about Biden’s priorities in the early days of his administration.
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Trump has raised more than $170 million since Election Day
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond
U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after exiting Marine One in Washington DC, on Sunday, November 29.
Chris Kleponis/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump and his political operation have raised more than $170 million since Election Day, a person familiar with the matter said, a massive fundraising haul fueled by Trump’s baseless allegations that the election was rigged.
The fundraising flowed into the coffers of Trump’s joint fundraising committee in less than four weeks thanks to a barrage of fundraising solicitations to Trump’s supporters, urging them to donate to an “Election Defense Fund” as the President hyped up conspiracy theories about a stolen election.
In reality, an increasingly large share of the funds have helped retire the Trump campaign’s debt and fund the President’s future political operation via a political action committee.
The campaign has sent exactly 400 fundraising appeal emails between election night and Tuesday morning, as well as 125 fundraising text messages.
The Trump campaign declined to comment on the fundraising figures.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed reporting to this post.
