Our live coverage has ended. Read more about Biden’s transition here.
In a wide-ranging interview — his first since being named President-elect — Joe Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt that he would consider appointing Republicans who voted for Donald Trump to his cabinet, and he said that he was wary of taking someone out of the Senate, namely Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, to place them in his cabinet or in another role in his administration.
“Have you considered for the sake of national unity selecting or nominating a Republican, someone who voted for President Trump?” asked Holt. “Yes. And we still have a lot more appointments to make. I want this country to be united. The purpose of our administration is once again uniting. We can’t keep this virulent political dialogue going. It has to end,” Biden said.
While many of his first appointees and nominations were longtime civil servants, many of whom served under President Barack Obama, Biden underscored that this is not a third Obama term.
On appointing progressive senators like Sanders or Warren, Biden seemed to reject the notion. “Taking someone out of the Senate, taking someone out of the House, particularly a person of consequence, is really a difficult decision that will have to be made.”
Biden emphasized that his priority when he assumes office will be tackling coronavirus, but noted that he also intends to send immigration legislation to Congress and take action on climate in his first 100 days.
“There’s multiple things that are going to be taking place at the same time,” he said of his priorities. “But the most important thing, I think, is to focus on those folks, who are always, when crisis hits, are the first ones hit, and recovery comes to last.”
Biden said that health care workers and first responders should be the first to take the vaccine.
The President-elect once again said that he would not direct his Department of Justice to investigate Trump.
“I will not do what this President does and use the Justice Department as my vehicle to insist that something happen,” he said. “There are a number of investigations that I’ve read about that are at a state level. There’s nothing at all I can or cannot do about that. But I’m focused on getting the American public back in a place where they have some certainty, some surety, some knowledge that they can make it. The middle-class and working-class people are being crushed. That’s my focus.”
President-elect Joe Biden will deliver a “Thanksgiving address” tomorrow where he will “discuss the shared sacrifices Americans are making this holiday season and say that we can and will get through the current crisis together,” according to a release from his transition team.
Biden’s address will be live-streamed from Wilmington, Delaware.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, confirmed that he has had preliminary conversations with members of President-elect Joe Biden’s team.
Fauci said he has not had any substantive discussions with the team as of yet but he looks forward to that. Fauci reiterated that he hopes to stay on and continue his work on the pandemic during the Biden administration.
Biden told reporters today that his team had been in touch with Fauci, adding that “he’s been very, very helpful.”
Investors have a lot to be thankful for this holiday-shortened week — including the Dow passing the 30,000 milestone for the first time as stocks posted solid gains Tuesday to extend Monday’s rally.
The Dow finished the day up nearly 455 points, or 1.5%. The blue chip index hit a new all-time high in the process, finally topping the 30,000 mark. The Dow is now up more than 5% in 2020.
The S&P 500 closed 1.6% higher and the Nasdaq ended 1.3% higher on Tuesday, and they too are not far from all-time highs. The S&P 500 has gained 12.5% this year, while the Nasdaq has surged 34%.
The latest catalyst: It appears that a formal transition from President Trump to President-elect Joe Biden is finally underway.
News came Monday that the General Services Administration is starting the so-called ascertainment process, which allows Trump administration officials to coordinate with the Biden team.
And that follows more promising coronavirus vaccine developments on Monday, as well as sources confirming to CNN that former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will be Biden’s nominee for Treasury Secretary.
Following the General Services Administration ascertainment of the election, President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is now talking to all federal agencies, a transition official tells CNN.
Yesterday, the GSA informed Biden via a letter from Administrator Emily Murphy that the Trump administration is ready to begin the formal transition process.
The letter was the first step the administration has taken to acknowledge President Trump’s defeat, more than two weeks after Biden was declared the winner in the election.
The White House has given formal approval for President-elect Joe Biden to receive the President’s Daily Briefing, according to a White House official.
Coordination on when Biden will receive his first briefing is currently underway, but the move is another step toward a transition of power that President Trump held up for weeks after it was clear he lost the 2020 election.
It follows a formal notice by the General Services Administration Monday night that the formal transition of government can proceed.
The President’s Daily Briefing, also known as the PDB, is a daily rundown of threats and intelligence developments compiled by the national security community.
The top secret document is read by the president and his inner circle of security advisers and top White House officials and is often accompanied by an in-person briefing by intelligence officials.
The PDB is put together so the commander-in-chief can make timely and sometimes fast-breaking decisions about national security.
Receiving a classified intelligence briefing is typically one of the first rights of a presidential candidate after winning the election. But Biden has yet to receive an intelligence briefing because of Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the election, which caused confusion inside the federal government over whether a transition could begin.
President Trump appeared in the Rose Garden Tuesday afternoon for the traditional White House turkey pardon and took the opportunity to take credit again today for the stock market and make a dig at his former defense chief, slightly changing the tone at the typically light-hearted event.
Trump kept his comments short and did not take questions from reporters.
As he pardoned “Cob” and “Corn,” the latter of which was a large, white turkey who made an appearance in the Rose Garden, Trump began his remarks by once again touting that the Dow hit 30,000 today before wishing the crowd a “healthy and very happy Thanksgiving.”
He called Thanksgiving a “special day for turkeys, I guess for the most part probably not very good if you think about it.” But when he shifted to comments on Covid-19, Trump started to use the kind of rhetoric he used on the campaign trail.
Trump also seemed to deviate from his prepared remarks after giving thanks for law enforcement and members of the military, adding, “As I say, America first. Shouldn’t go away from that, America first.”
As CNN previously reported, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis called on President-elect Joe Biden to strip all references to “America First,” from America’s strategy, dumping one of Trump’s key mantras.
The President was accompanied by the first lady. Neither wore a mask. His daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the ceremony with their children, all of whom wore masks.
This was Trump’s second appearance of the day after he gave remarks in the White House briefing room that lasted for just over a minute. He has remained largely out of sight since the election.
The head of the Department of Defense’s transition task force, Tom Muir, met with the Biden-Harris agency review team Tuesday morning, Muir told reporters at the Pentagon.
He said the head of the transition team reached out to him personally on Monday night.
CNN reported earlier that Kash Patel is overseeing the task force work.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said the Cabinet selections for the incoming Biden administration embody the “nobility of public service.”
Harris said she and President-elect Joe Biden will be walking into the White House with “unprecedented’ challenges — namely, tackling the coronavirus pandemic and reopening the nation’s economy.
Harris went on to praise the nominees and appointees, calling them “patriots and public servants to their core,” and “the leaders we need to meet the challenges of this moment and those that lie ahead.”
Watch:
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris just introduced their first Cabinet-level picks and appointments to key national security and foreign policy posts.
Here are some key lines from the nominees’ remarks in Delaware:
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State nominee
Blinken said that the US needs to proceed “with equal measures of humility and confidence” in working with other countries because “we can’t solve all of the world’s problems alone.”
Blinken said the US has a “greater ability than any other country on Earth to bring others together to meet challenges of our time.”
Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary nominee
Mayorkas, who would become the first Latino to helm the department if confirmed, said that the Department of Homeland Security has “a noble mission, to help keep us safe and to advance our proud history as a country of welcome.”
Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence nominee
Haines, who would become the first woman to lead the US intelligence community, said that Biden knows she has “never shied away from speaking truth to power,” adding, “that will be my charge as director of national intelligence.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, UN Ambassador nominee
Thomas-Greenfield, who has worked for 35 years in foreign service across four continents, said she likes to put a “cajun spin” on diplomacy.
She added: “It was my way of breaking down barriers, connecting with people, and starting to see each other on a human level.”
Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser nominee
Sullivan noted that he served as Biden’s national security adviser when he was vice president.
On Biden, he added, “That is the person America elected. That’s also America at its best.”
John Kerry, Climate Envoy nominee
Kerry said that in the fight against climate change “failure is not an option.”
“Succeeding together means tapping into the best of American ingenuity, creativity, diplomacy, from brain power to alternative energy power, using every tool we have to get where we have to go,” he said.
Kerry added: “No one should doubt the determination of this president and vice president, they shouldn’t doubt the determination of the country that went to the moon, cured supposedly incurable diseases, and beat back global tyranny to win World War II.”
President-elect Joe Biden’s first Cabinet picks and appointments to key national security and foreign policy posts include several firsts.
He has selected Avril Haines, the first woman to lead the US intelligence community, and Alejandro Mayorkas, the first Latino to helm the Department of Homeland Security.
Cuban-born Mayorkas, a former deputy secretary of DHS who Biden has nominated to lead the department, will be tasked with rebuilding an agency that carried out some of the most draconian measures associated with President Trump’s hardline immigration policy, including family separations at the US-Mexico border.
Biden’s pick for director of national intelligence, Haines, a former top CIA official and deputy national security adviser, will also make history if confirmed by the Senate.
“If afforded the opportunities to do so, I will never forget that my role on this team is unique. Better than that of a policy adviser, I will represent to you, Congress, and the American public, the patriots that comprise our intelligence community. Mr. President-Elect, you know that I have never shied away from speaking truth to power and that will be my charge as director of national intelligence,” Haines said.
Here’s who else has been tapped to serve in Biden’s Cabinet:
President-elect Joe Biden is introducing his Cabinet nominees and appointees to key national security and foreign policy posts, including the first woman to lead the US intelligence community and first Latino to helm the Department of Homeland Security.
The six foreign policy and national security nominees and appointees, which were unveiled yesterday, are on stage with him in Wilmington, Delaware.
“The team meets this moment, this team behind me. They embody my core beliefs that America is strongest when it works with its allies,” Biden continued. “Collectively this team has secured some of the most defining national security and diplomatic achievements in recent memory.”
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also praised the individuals, saying they are the leaders the country needs “to meet the challenges of this moment.”
“I have always believed in the nobility of public service, and these Americans embody it,” Kamala Harris said. “These women and men are patriots and public servants to their core. And they are leaders, the leaders we need to meet the challenges of this moment. And those that lie ahead.”
The nominees and appointees include:
Watch President-elect Joe Biden’s remarks:
President Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, abruptly came into the White House briefing room Tuesday for remarks scheduled minutes before on the stock market that clocked in just over one minute.
The Dow hit 30,000 for the first time earlier Tuesday as uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election lifted and new hopes that a Covid-19 vaccine could soon be available.
The President made brief remarks and did not take any questions.
Here’s what the President said:
Nevada Secretary of State Barbara K. Cegavske officially certified the state’s 2020 general election results before the state’s Supreme Court Tuesday.
Cevaske, a Republican, highlighted several state races and their results, but did not verbally acknowledge the winner of the presidential race, President-elect Joe Biden.
The Nevada Supreme Court signed the canvassing for each county prior to official certification of the results.
Biden won the state by more than 33,000 votes, according to the latest numbers on the Secretary of State’s website.
Here’s a breakdown of the general election vote count:
US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said his department has been in communication with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, following the General Services Administration’s acknowledgement of Biden’s win Monday night.
“We are immediately getting them all of the pre-prepared transition briefing materials. We will ensure coordinated briefings with them to ensure they’re getting whatever information that they feel they need that’s consistent with statute and past practice,” Azar said.
“Transition planning and execution will be professional, cooperative and collaborative,” he added.
WATCH:
Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist who was connected to efforts to spread conspiracy theories about Joe Biden has been put in charge of the Pentagon transition effort with the incoming Biden-Harris administration, according to two US defense officials.
Patel is the chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. While its not unusual for a chief of staff to take a leading role in a transition effort, officials tell CNN that Patel is likely to come under scrutiny by many inside the Pentagon who are watching to see how cooperative he may be with the Biden team in providing critical information.
Patel just recently came to the Pentagon after President Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper and is viewed as an ardent Trump loyalist who will continue to do whatever he can to further the President’s political agenda in the time remaining in office.
The House impeachment inquiry uncovered evidence that Patel, who was then an aid to Rep. Devin Nunes was connected to the diplomatic back channel led by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and the efforts to spread conspiracy theories about Joe Biden and coerce Ukraine into announcing an investigation of the former vice president.
Thomas Muir, the director of Washington Headquarters Services is providing the major Department of Defense support to the transition while Patel heads the overall effort another defense official said.Muir is expected to facilitate office space, communications and access to information.
A senior defense official said that prior to Patel overseeing the transition process, his predecessor Jen Stewart who was chief of staff to Esper was leading the process.
Since coming to the Pentagon, Patel has overseen decisions to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan
The Pentagon said Monday night that the Biden-Harris team has been in touch with the Department of Defense team.
Barbara Starr reports:
As the nation continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, Health and Human Services held a key meeting this morning following the ascertainment declaration from the General Services Administration.
HHS also says it will have a cooperative a professional transition. It also notes that the career people involved with the pandemic response and vaccine distribution will be the same after inauguration day.
Remember: The delay in ascertainment meant that President-elect Joe Biden’s team was locked out from government data and could not make contact with federal agencies, nor could it spend $6.3 million in government funding now available for the transition.
A Biden official said the most urgent need was for the transition to be given access to Covid-19 data and the vaccine distribution plans.
The State Department transition team was contacted by President-elect Joe Biden’s State Department agency review team last night after the General Services Administration ascertained Biden’s victory, according to a senior State Department official with knowledge of the transition.
The outreach came from Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who is the team lead and Biden’s pick for Ambassador to the UN, the official said.
Today there will be a virtual meeting with the State Department transition team, led by Ambassador Dan Smith, and the Biden transition team, the official said. This will be their first official meeting and comes more than two weeks after Biden gave a victory speech and was declared the winner of the election.
The meeting will begin to dig into logistical and substantive details, such as the pace of the process over the next few weeks and how much of the process will be done in person and how much will be done virtually, the official said.
While there is a scurry of activity in the transition offices at the State Department this morning, none of the Biden State Department team members have yet visited the offices, the official said.
Today Thomas-Greenfield is with Biden in Wilmington, Delaware, as he formally unveils a slew of high-profile Cabinet appointments, including his plan to send her to represent the US at the UN.
Traditionally the Cabinet picks don’t happen until after the transition has been in motion for at least a few weeks.
With the key Cabinet picks for State already done – with Tony Blinken chosen to be Biden’s Secretary of State – the transition process will operate a bit more quickly as the career transition team at State knows who they are working with and can prepare materials that they need with their input, the official said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf just announced that the Keystone state has certified its 2020 general election results.
In a twitter post Tuesday morning, Wolf confirmed he’d signed the certificate for Ascertainment that formally acknowledges the state’s recognition of Biden winning the election.
The certification comes just one day after all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, under law, had to receive precinct results and certify them to the Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar by the third Monday after the election.
This will now officially award the state’s 20 electoral votes to President-elect Joe Biden.
Wolf went onto thank election officials for their work.
“Again, I want to thank the election officials who have administered a fair and free election during an incredibly challenging time in our commonwealth and country’s history. Our election workers have been under constant attack and they have performed admirably and honorably,” Wolf said in a news release.
President Trump’s campaign is funneling an increasingly large share of its “Election Defense Fund” fundraising to Trump’s political action committee, as his opportunities to legally challenge the election results fade.
Even as fundraising emails tell supporters their donations will help “protect the integrity of the election,” 75% of donations to the fund are now deposited into the coffers of Trump’s fledgling leadership PAC, Save America.
That’s up from the 60% share the PAC was receiving last week.
The campaign’s “Recount Account” — arguably the account supporters believe they are donating to – only gets a piece of donations above $5,000.
The remaining quarter of any donation goes to the Republican National Committee’s general fund, with donations over $35,500 steered to the RNC’s legal fund.
The Trump campaign did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
