Election 2020 live updates: Biden talks with Pelosi, Schumer about need for COVID bill
live election information from across the country.
Reports: Trump may announce 2024 run when election victory for Biden is certified
President Donald Trump has told some advisers that if the election is certified for President-elect Joe Biden, he will announce he will be running in 2024 shortly afterwards, according to The New York Times and NBC News.
Biden has been projected to win the 2020 election as he is currently leading Trump 290-217 in the Electoral College, surpassing the 270 electoral votes needed to become the 46th President of the United States.
Trump has not yet conceded to Biden, and is instead filing lawsuits in several key states, and claiming the election was fraudulent.
The New York Times reported that, according to one advisor, Trump “knows it’s over,” but instead of conceding the race to Biden, is hoping to ensure he has the continued support of his GOP base as he contemplates his future, post-presidency.
Axios first reported on Monday Trump was considering running again in 2024, just two days after the race was called for Biden.
— Savannah Behrmann
Georgia’s hand recount and audit of the presidential race will begin at 9 a.m. Friday, state election officials said Thursday.
The recount will conclude at midnight on Wednesday, Nov. 18, said Gabe Sterling, voting implementation manager.
“This will be the largest hand recount and audit in United States history,” Sterling said.
He added that the biggest concern going in will be the potential for human error during the hand recount.
“Human beings are the most flawed part of the process,” he said. “The numbers will shift a bit (because of human involvement).”
Sterling said most of the changes usually come on the hand-marked paper ballots, with the absentee ballots being “the most problematic” due to the amount of human interaction with them.
″(Humans) will be the weak link. There’s no way to prevent it. We have to try and circumvent that,” he said.
Addressing claims that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is performing a hand recount and audit at the request of President Donald Trump or other Georgia Republican leaders, such as Sens. David Perdue or Kelly Loeffler, Sterling said those claims are the “farthest from the truth.”
former Vice President Joe Biden won.
“We need to consider the former vice president as the president-elect,” DeWine told CNN Thursday morning. “Joe Biden is the president-elect.”
Contrast that with DeWine’s statement Monday: “I congratulate Vice-President Biden,” he said. “When lawsuits have concluded and election results are certified, it is important for all Americans to honor the outcome.”
Calling Biden the president-elect might seem like a hair-splitting distinction, but it’s one few Republicans have made. On Monday, Ohio Republican Party leader Jane Timken told supporters in an email that the race wasn’t over.
“It is premature for Democrats and the media to call the race for Biden when there are many questions regarding fraudulent voting that have yet to be answered,” Timken wrote.
DeWine was the co-chair of Trump’s reelection committee in Ohio, a state the president won by 8 percentage points in final, unofficial results.
– Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati Enquirer
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine:Republican says ‘Joe Biden is the president-elect’
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“There’s nothing wrong with Vice President Biden getting the briefings to be able to prepare himself so that he can be ready. The president’s already getting those. There’s nothing wrong with the former vice president getting those,” he told KRMG. “If that’s not occurring by Friday, I will step in as well to be able to push and say ‘This needs to occur’ so that regardless of the outcome of the election, whichever way that it goes, people can be ready for the actual task.”
Biden has been declared the winner of the presidential election, though President Donald Trump and his campaign are alleging unsubstantiated voter fraud in a number of states. Over the coming weeks states will certify their election results.
– Sean Rossman
Biden transition:Joe Biden’s team says ‘theatrics’ of Trump’s legal fights won’t impede a smooth transition
the president-elect’s White House chief of staff, the Biden campaign announced Wednesday night.
Klain was Biden’s chief of staff when he was vice president and also served as chief of staff to vice president Al Gore. By tapping Klain to lead his White House, Biden has chosen a Washington veteran with experience fighting the Ebola outbreak just as the new president makes ending the COVID-19 pandemic his top priority.
The hire, the first made by Biden for his new administration, marks another step toward his White House transition as President Donald Trump contests election results with baseless claims of voter fraud.
– Joey Garrison, John Fritze and Savannah Behrmann
Biden chief of staff:Ron Klain named Biden’s chief of staff, first White House official picked for administration
