Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the Biden transition here.
During a virtual call with governors Wednesday evening, President-elect Joe Biden spoke to the bipartisan group about tackling the pandemic, reiterating his plans for the first 100 days that include mandating mask-wearing on federal lands and reopening schools.
Biden emphasized that he intends to work with the governors on every aspect of beating the pandemic in the nation.
“We’re here to be your partner, and to listen,” Biden said, according to pool reports.
According to pool reports, Biden said he wants to work with governors on the “Herculean task” of “delivering safe, equitable and free vaccinations.”
“It’s going to take the federal government, and working with you guys to decide what the best way to do it. It’s going to require us to be clear with the American people about what to expect through this massive public education campaign,” and taking steps to reach underserved communities.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who spoke first, told the governors that her “door will always be open” to them as they work to confront the pandemic, adding a frequently used line that the American people in need of help don’t care if they are Democrats or Republicans.
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to get his first Covid-19 vaccination early next week, CNN has learned, and plans to get his shot for all to see.
People familiar with the plans say Biden is likely to get his shot next week.
The delay has not been borne out of hesitation, aides say, but rather logistics of administering the shot in a public setting.
The Biden transition team is talking with New York business executive Diana Taylor about a potential role in the Biden administration, according to a source familiar.
Taylor, the longtime partner of former New York City mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, has expressed interested in SBA, but could be considered for other roles as well, according to the source.
Taylor has deep ties to the business community and previously served as the New York State Superintendent of Banks. A former Republican, Taylor registered as a Democrat in 2018.
The New York Times was the first to report the news.
President-elect Joe Biden will name Gina McCarthy as his White House climate czar, a source familiar with the decision tells CNN, making the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency his top domestic climate coordinator.
McCarthy, who currently serves as the head of the Natural Resources Defense Council, will lead Biden’s newly formed Office of Domestic Climate Policy, a source said. McCarthy served as the administrator of the EPA from 2013 to 2017 under former President Barack Obama.
The move is the latest example of Biden’s prioritization of the climate crisis.
Here are some key things to know about McCarthy’s role and experience:
Read more here.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies announced Wednesday the planned limitations and guidance for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Traditionally, the committee would give out 200,000 tickets for the official ceremonies, but this year, members of Congress will be limited to themselves and one guest, according to the committee.
“While the pandemic has forced us to limit in-person attendance, it also brings opportunities to honor our democracy in innovative ways so that Americans across the country can experience Inauguration Day from home,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said.
Read more here.
Pete Buttigieg was just formally nominated by President-Elect Joe Biden as his transportation secretary in Wilmington, Delaware.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Buttigieg would be the first LGBTQ Cabinet secretary approved by the chamber.
Buttigieg used part of his remarks to note the significance of his nomination and shared a personal story about his journey.
“I’m also mindful that the eyes of history are on this appointment. Knowing that this is the first time an American president has ever sent an openly LGBTQ Cabinet member to senate for confirmation,” Buttigieg said. “I can remember watching the news, 17 years old, in Indiana, seeing a story about an appointee of President Clinton named to be ambassador, attacked and denied a vote in the Senate because he was gay. Ultimately able to serve only by recess appointment. At the time, I had no aspirations of being appointed by a president to anything. At that age I was hoping to be an airline pilot and I was a long way from coming out even to myself,” he said.
Buttigieg said that when watching that story, he learned about some of the “limits that exist in this country” when it comes to who “is allowed to belong.”
The transportation secretary nominee said he hopes his nomination today will inspire young people who are in a similar place as he was.
Buttigieg thanked Biden for honoring his “commitment to diversity.”
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, President-Elect Biden’s nominee for transportation secretary, said his focus would be on growth and equity all while “rising to the climate challenge.”
“This administration can deliver policies and resources that will create jobs, rise to the climate challenge, and equitably serve all Americans,” Buttigieg said. “Step one in building back better literally is to build.”
Buttigieg talked about how transportation and infrastructure should be used to bring people together and boost the economy – in stride with the Biden administration’s message of healing.
Buttigieg cited his own experience in South Bend, Indiana, saying infrastructure “was at the heart of our vision” to get the city out of a recession.
“We reimagined how vehicles and people move through the city, unlocking new economic vibrancy in our urban core. We built up partnerships to improve rail service to public/private partnership that put our city at the cutting edge of bicycle mobility,” he said.
President-elect Joe Biden is formally introducing former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg as his nominee for transportation secretary at an event happening now in Wilmington, Delaware.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Buttigieg would be the first LGBTQ Cabinet secretary approved by the chamber.
The President-elect praised the diversity of his Cabinet nominees so far.
“And by the end of this process, this Cabinet will be the most representative of any Cabinet in American history. We’ll have more people of color than any Cabinet ever, we’ll have more women than any Cabinet ever. We’ll have a Cabinet of barrier breakers. A Cabinet of firsts,” Biden said.
Buttigieg’s selection also represents the first time the President-elect has tapped one of his former Democratic presidential opponents to join his administration as a Cabinet secretary.
The role of transportation secretary is expected to play a central part in Biden’s push for a bipartisan infrastructure package. Buttigieg spearheaded a number of infrastructure projects as mayor, and as a presidential candidate, Buttigieg proposed a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
The former mayor is seen as a rising star in the Democratic primary and rose to national prominence during the 2020 Democratic primary. Once an unknown mayor of a small city, Buttigieg became a top presidential contender and made history as the first LGBTQ presidential candidate to win primary delegates from a major party.
Here’s a look at who else Biden has selected for his Cabinet so far.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies announced Wednesday the planned limitations and guidance for President-elect Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Members will be limited to themselves and one guest, according to the committee.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will no longer be meeting in person with Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to be Secretary of State at the department tomorrow, sources familiar with the meeting tell CNN.
It is not clear if the meeting will happen virtually, or if Blinken will still come to the State Department to meet with other officials from Pompeo’s staff.
The State Department said Wednesday that Pompeo is in quarantine, due to close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19.
More on the meeting: The meeting between Blinken and Pompeo was to mark the first formal recognition by President Trump’s top diplomat that he is preparing to hand over the reins of American foreign policy to his successor.
CNN reported earlier this week the meeting was scheduled to last for only 15 minutes, but State Department officials viewed it as a positive step.
In addition, Pompeo’s office has canceled two holiday gathering for foreign ambassadors in Washington that were scheduled to take place at the department today and where Pompeo was scheduled to give remarks, according to an internal schedule reviewed by CNN.
Yesterday Pompeo and his wife did not attend a separate holiday party hosted at the State Department yesterday, says a source familiar with the event.
Instead, Deputy Secretary of State, Steve Biegun, attended the event and gave remarks to the family members of US diplomats who serve in dangerous locations where they cannot being their family along, the source said. At the time, no reason was given for Pompeo skipping the event.
It remains unclear when Pompeo came into contact with the person who tested positive for Covid-19 and how long he will quarantine for. It’s also unclear when Pompeo will get the Covid-19 vaccine. Yesterday the department said in a memo that certain groups of US diplomats had been prioritized to get the doses in the first tranche, but would not say if Pompeo fell into any of the prioritized categorizes.
Last week Pompeo visited the White House on Friday and also spent time with his son and his new fiancé in Washignton, DC according to photos on his personal Twitter.
Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, told reporters Wednesday that he does not plan to object to election results when Congress meets for a joint session on Jan. 6, while defending holding today’s hearing probing the 2020 election.
Some context: Under the rules, any House member can join a senator to raise objection to a state’s electoral college results. Doing so would spark debate and votes. The expectation isn’t that anyone could overturn the results of the election, but it would be a political spectacle.
The Wisconsin Republican also explicitly acknowledged Joe Biden as the President-elect.
When asked if he considers Biden the president elect, he replied: “Yes, the electoral college has voted, and so now he’s the President-elect.
He continued, “The process has played out. Many lawsuits filed, many settled or dismissed. The collective judgment of that entire process the certification of the electors by the states and electoral college now has shown …Vice President Biden beat the president elect.”
Sen. Ron Johnson also said Wednesday he’s hoping a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden’s taxes is “not necessary, but it might be.”
He made the comments when asked about reports that President Trump is asking about appointing a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden’s taxes.
Speaking about the US attorney in Delaware, Johnson said, “I’m hoping he’s a person of integrity and that we can rely on him. Hopefully we can also rely on Vice President Biden not replacing that individual, but again if we don’t have that assurance.. don’t have that confidence, we just might need a special counsel.”
Asked how he anticipates working with Biden in the years ahead, he said “I’m happy to work in good faith because I think being President of United States is almost an impossible task.”
President-elect Joe Biden will formally introduce former Democratic 2020 presidential candidate and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg this morning as his nominee for transportation secretary in an event in Wilmington, Delaware.
Buttigieg would be the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary should his nomination make it through the chamber.
Biden added that he sees the Department of Transportation as the “site of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better” and that he trusts “Mayor Pete to lead this work with focus, decency, and a bold vision.”
The choice — which represents the first time the President-elect has called on one of his former Democratic presidential opponents to join his administration as a Cabinet secretary — vaults a candidate Biden spoke glowingly of after the primary into a top job in his incoming administration and could earn Buttigieg what many Democrats believe is needed experience should he run for president again.
The role of transportation secretary is expected to play a central role in Biden’s push for a bipartisan infrastructure package.
Immigrant advocacy groups, that for years scrambled to identify and reunite families separated at the US-Mexico border, are now preparing for the incoming administration and steps to rectify the trauma experienced by parents and children.
Last week, immigrant advocacy groups met with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team on family separation and next steps as part of a series of ongoing listening sessions, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, has also met with immigration leaders, among other groups, according to another source familiar with the discussions.
Immigrant advocacy groups hope Biden’s administration can work toward restoring trust with the families who’ve grown increasingly skeptical of the US since having their kids taken from them.
Advocates have been putting together a list of recommendations on how the government can work to rectify the consequences of family separation and address the situation in a thoughtful and holistic manner, according to Conchita Cruz, a co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, which represents separated families.
Some background: The so-called “zero tolerance” policy — which called for the criminal prosecutions of every adult illegally crossing the border and, as a result, the separation of thousands of families — became a flashpoint during the Trump administration.
The policy came to encapsulate the lengths President Trump was willing to go to in order to deter migrants from coming to the US, regardless of their circumstances, and it revealed the disarray that ensues when agencies are unprepared.
Biden has condemned the policy, calling it “criminal” during a presidential debate in October. “Their kids were ripped from their arms and separated. And now they cannot find over 500 sets of those parents and those kids are alone. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to go. It’s criminal. It’s criminal,” he said.
Read more here.
Rick Bright, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus advisory panel, said on Wednesday that Biden is “going to receive it soon, you know. He’s having conversations with Dr. Fauci” about the Covid-19 vaccine.
Bright said this was a show of confidence, and that Biden is “very confident in this vaccine. He just wants to make sure it is his turn, and he wants to do it publicly so people know that he’s very confident in the outcome.”
When asked by CNN’s Alisyn Camerota why not today, Bright said, “I know there are discussions about it and I know that it’s imminent that it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of the timing and the logistics of getting the vaccine.”
“There is absolutely no hesitancy at all,” Bright said. “It’s just now a matter of the timing, logistics.”
President-elect Joe Biden still has a goal of announcing all – or most – of his Cabinet positions before Christmas, but officials close to the transition say several decisions still must be made in the next week.
Biden is scheduled to hold two public events for the rest of this week: Today’s event to introduce Pete Buttigieg as the nominee for transportation secretary and an event on Saturday to introduce members of his climate team.
He is not scheduled to have events Thursday because of an expected snow storm and Friday because it’s the anniversary of his wife’s and daughter’s death, a day he traditionally does not have a public schedule.
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo is a leading contender for the commerce secretary post, two officials familiar with the matter say, but as of late last night she had not been formally offered the position yet.
Several major decisions remain – none bigger than attorney general.
Judge Merrick Garland and Alabama Sen. Doug Jones remain the two leading contenders, people familiar with the matter say, but Biden has yet to reach a final decision for who will be nominated to lead the Department of Justice.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is not a contender for the position, people familiar with the matter say, adding that Sally Yates and Deval Patrick are not leading contenders, but have not been entirely ruled out.
A decision has also not been reached on the CIA Director, officials say, and no formal announcements are expected yet this week.
The decisions have taken longer than some transition officials expected, but those who have worked with Biden for a long time are not surprised.
Advisers warned after the election that Biden was “notoriously deliberative” as CNN reported Nov. 13.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee on Tuesday urged Americans to refrain from traveling for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ inauguration on Jan. 20 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Biden and Harris will take their oaths of office at the US Capitol during a significantly scaled-down inauguration ceremony that will implement “vigorous health and safety protocols,” the committee said in a news release.
The ceremony’s footprint will be “extremely limited,” according to the committee, and the parade on Inauguration Day will be “reimagined.”
Much like the Democratic National Convention — which was forced to go online over the summer in efforts to keep the virus from spreading — the inauguration festivities will feature a virtual program to allow Americans to participate from home.
More details about the Jan. 20 event will be announced in the coming weeks, the committee said.
The expectation is the event itself will be smaller than usual and attendees will have to wear masks and maintain social distance within the ticketed parameters. There is also ongoing discussion about requiring Covid-19 tests for anyone who will stand on the main platform near the President-elect, who is 78.
Read more about Biden’s inauguration here.
Voters voted. States counted the votes. Challenges were heard and rejected. Now the Electoral College has made President-elect Joe Biden’s victory completely official.
The time for President Trump’s repeated baseless allegations of fraud is over, but that doesn’t mean the drama has ended. Lawmakers follow an archaic timeline set out the Constitution and US law to make Biden president.
Just as then-Vice President Biden oversaw the counting of electoral votes that gave Trump the White House in 2017, now it will be Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s loyal soldier these last four years, who will announce the vote tally that officially makes Biden the winner. Read more about that here.
And Republicans will have to choose how deeply they want to follow Trump into his rabbit hole of conspiracy theories.
Here are key dates to watch from now until Inauguration Day:
Dec. 23
Jan. 3
Jan. 6
Jan. 20
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, elevating the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to a top post in the federal government.
Biden will make remarks around the nomination at 11:45 a.m. ET in Wilmington, Delaware.
Buttigieg would be the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary should his nomination make it through the chamber.
The choice — which represents the first time the President-elect has called on one of his former Democratic presidential opponents to join his administration as a Cabinet secretary — vaults a candidate Biden spoke glowingly of after the primary into a top job in his incoming administration and could earn Buttigieg what many Democrats believe is needed experience should he run for president again.
The role of transportation secretary is expected to play a central role in Biden’s push for a bipartisan infrastructure package.
Read more about Buttigieg’s nomination here.
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