Biden begins transition plans as Trump refuses to concede

Two more Republican senators said Monday it's time to start the transition to President-elect Joe Biden's administration, the latest cracks in President Trump's GOP support as he continues to deny his election loss.

Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia acknowledged in separate statements that, as more states certify their results, a smooth transfer of power should be initiated. The statements came just before the General Services Administration informed Biden that the Trump administration is ready to begin the formal transition process, according to a letter from Administrator Emily Murphy sent Monday afternoon and obtained by CNN.

"The presidential election is rapidly coming to a formal end," Alexander, who is retiring, said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"Recounts are being completed. Courts are resolving disputes. Most states will certify their votes by December 8. Since it seems apparent that Joe Biden will be the president-elect, my hope is that President Trump will take pride in his considerable accomplishments, put the country first and have a prompt and orderly transition to help the new administration succeed."

Capito said in her own statement that the time had come for Biden to begin "receiving all appropriate briefings" for a transfer of power.

The pair joined a number of other Republicans — including Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan and Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — who have publicly signaled their support for a formal presidential transition process.

Yohannes Abraham, executive director of Joe Biden’s transition, welcomed the General Services Administration's decision to allow the formal transition process to move forward, saying it is the “needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track.”

Read the GSA's letter here.

The General Services Administration informed federal departments Monday night that it has ascertained Joe Biden to be the winner of the presidential election, according to an email obtained by CNN.

"In accordance with the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended, today, November 23, 2020, the GSA Administrator has ascertained Joseph R. Biden and Senator Kamala Harris the apparent successful candidates for the offices of President and Vice President, respectively," Mary Gilbert, the federal transition coordinator, wrote in an email to federal department contacts.

Gilbert also informed federal department contacts they will receive an invitation for upcoming office hours. She also attached Murphy's letter to Biden in the email. 

The email was sent at 6:05 p.m. and its subject line is "Ascertainment: 2020 Apparent Successful Candidates for the offices of President and Vice President."

Some White House staffers were initially caught off guard by the General Services Administration's letter, learning about it first from CNN, a senior White House official said.

But the official said staffers will begin to cooperate with Joe Biden's transition team.

The official added they were seeking more information on next steps.

The General Services Administration has informed President-elect Joe Biden that the Trump administration is ready to begin the formal transition process, according to a letter from administrator Emily Murphy sent Monday afternoon and obtained by CNN.

The letter is the first step the administration has taken to acknowledge President Donald Trump's defeat, more than two weeks after Biden was declared the winner in the election.

The letter signals that Murphy will formally sign off on Biden's victory, a normally perfunctory process known as ascertainment. The move will allow the transition to officially begin, permitting current administration agency officials to coordinate with the incoming Biden team, and providing millions in government funding for the transition.

President Trump later tweeted that while the legal case “STRONGLY continues,” he told Murphy to “do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols.”

Keep reading here.

All of Georgia's 159 counties must begin their recount efforts at 9 a.m. Tuesday, said Gabriel Sterling, voter implementation manager with the Secretary of State’s office.

Counties must wrap up their recount by midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 2. 

“They have to begin tomorrow morning by 9 a.m.,” Sterling said during a new conference. “But beginning could also be if they are organizing and getting the people lined up because we want to make sure we have a lot of notice go out so we can have the monitors be there and adjudication teams, especially for the absentee votes first because those are the ones that are most likely to be needing adjudication."   

Ballots cannot be contested by party monitors on site during this process. There will be a minimum of two monitors per party at each location where the recount is occurring, according to Sterling. Larger counties that have more than two scanners will have an additional monitor for each party per each additional scanner.   

Sterling said that this count, under the code of Georgia, will be the final certified version of the election results.   

The Trump campaign requested the recount on Saturday, which is their right by Georgia law because the margin of Joe Biden’s victory is less than 0.5%. The recount will be taxpayer-funded, and will be conducted in each county statewide using high speed ballot scanners.    

President-elect Biden, who was declared the winner last Friday when the state certified the results, has a 12,670 vote or .2% lead over President Trump in Georgia.

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified results for the 2020 presidential election at a Monday meeting.

The state’s 16 electors will now go to the winner of the popular of the vote of the state, Joe Biden.

The next step is the Secretary of State sends the board’s certification to the governor for her signature.

“We appreciate the state board’s recognition of the plain facts: President-elect Joe Biden resoundingly won the state of Michigan by more than 150,000 votes — 14 times the margin of Donald Trump in 2016," a Biden spokesperson said.

“We thank the state of Michigan for its support, and look forward to receiving its 16 electoral votes,” said Michigan communications director Ben Halle. 

President-elect Joe Biden will choose Janet Yellen, former chair of the federal reserve, as his Secretary of the Treasury, according to a source with knowledge of the pick.

Responding to CNN’s reporting about Biden’s pick for the role, Jen Psaki, a senior adviser for the transition team, said Biden looks "forward to announcing some members of his economic team early next week who will work with him to build the economy back better."

Yellen, who will be the first woman to hold the job should she be confirmed by the Senate, will be tasked to lead Biden's economic response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on the economy and led millions of Americans to lose their jobs.

She will also be asked to make good on the former vice president's campaign promise to narrow the economic divide between rich and poor in the United States.

Yellen, after a long career in academia and different federal reserve roles, was nominated by President Barack Obama to become chair of the Federal Reserve — the first woman to hold the position — in a role she filled from 2014 to 2018.

President Trump opted not to renominate Yellen during his first year in office, instead nominating Jerome Powell to take the top job.

Biden had said that his pick to be Treasury secretary would attract broad support from different corners of the Democratic Party.

Read more here.

Jordan’s King Abdullah spoke with President-elect Joe Biden on Monday to discuss bilateral relations and regional security, according to a readout of the conversation released by Jordan’s Royal Court. 

This marks the first call between an Arab leader and the President-elect.

"His Majesty reaffirmed the importance of continued coordination to counter joint challenges, including the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the readout continued.

“The King expressed his best wishes to President-elect Biden, wishing the American people continued progress and prosperity,” the readout concluded.

Here's a look at the other world leaders that have congratulated Biden.