Election 2020 live updates: Michigan certifies election results finding Biden the winner
Michigan’s elections board voted Monday to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state, avoiding a stalemate and a potential delay after three of four board members agreed they had a “legal duty” by state law to act.
The Board of State Canvassers, made up of two Democrats and two Republicans, voted 3-0 to certify results that show Biden defeating President Donald Trump by 154,187 votes in Michigan. One Republican board member abstained from voting.
The board’s vote, which followed three and a half hours of public comment, is usually a routine sign-off, but it was watched closely amid a climate of hyper-partisanship. Trump allies had urged Republican board members to block certification as the president levels baseless claims of voter fraud to falsely claim the election was stolen from him. Around 30,000 people tuned in on YouTube to watch the proceedings.
The GOP lawmakers who have called on Trump to acknowledge Biden win
Capito stated that despite voting for Trump, “Unfortunately, election results from around the country indicate that our fellow Americans chose differently” and she does “firmly believe in our electoral system and in the power of the voice of the people.”
“I have been clear that President Trump—like any candidate for office—has the right to request recounts and to raise legal claims before our courts. However, at some point, the 2020 election must end,” she continued, stating there is no indication of widespread fraud.
She said they “should begin receiving all appropriate briefings related to national security and COVID-19 to facilitate a smooth transfer of power in the likely event that they are to take office on January 20.”
Alexander echoed this sentiment, saying it is his “hope 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.”
“When you are in public life, people remember the last thing you do,” Alexander concluded.
– Savannah Behrmann
Biden picks Janet Yellen to lead Treasury
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, to become the first woman to lead the Treasury Department, if she is confirmed.
Yellen became the first female chair of the Federal Reserve System in February 2014 during the Obama administration, after serving more than three years as vice governor. She previously served as head of the Council of Economic Advisers to President Bill Clinton.
She argued in August that Congress needed to approve additional stimulus to spur growth amid the coronavirus pandemic, as she wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times and told National Public Radio. As a member of the Climate Leadership Council, she supported taxing carbon emissions as the most efficient way to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
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– Bart Jansen
Who will join the Biden administration and who might be top contenders
Biden also announced former Secretary of State John Kerry would serve as a special envoy on climate change. And Biden named Jake Sullivan, who served as his national security adviser during his tenure as vice president, to again fill that role for him as president.
– Bart Jansen and William Cummings
Grassley plans return to Senate after COVID-19 diagnosis
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week, said Monday he was doing well and plans to return to work in the Senate after Thanksgiving.
“Thx for the continued support,” the Iowa Republican wrote in a tweet Monday morning. “I’m still feeling good + am keeping up on my reading work from home I look fwd to being back in the Senate next wk after Thanksgiving.”
Grassley’s spokesman, Michael Zona, said the senator was reading several Iowa newspapers, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
Grassley, 87, is in isolation at his Washington, D.C.-area home.
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– Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register
100 former Republican national security officials warn Trump must allow transition
The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The GSA also offered an in-person briefing for the staff of the Senate Appropriations, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Environment and Public Works Committees later in the afternoon in the agency’s auditorium.
Democrats expressed concern the planned in-person briefing could pose health risks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee aide.
– Nicholas Wu
Joe Biden chose two staffers of top Democratic leaders in Congress to help his administration negotiate legislation, as he continues to fill out his White House staffing.
Reema Dodin and Shuwanza Goff were each named deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs.
Dodin works for Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the assistant minority leader. Goff works for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and became the first Black woman to serve as floor director, helping set the Democrats’ legislative agenda and determining which bills reach the floor.
“The American people are eager for our Administration to get to work, and today’s appointees will help advance our agenda and ensure every American has a fair shot,” Biden said in a statement. “In a Biden administration, we will have an open door to the Hill and this team will make sure their views are always represented in the White House.”
– Bart Jansen
Biden staff:Biden names 2 White House staffers to help negotiate legislation with Congress
2 more members of Congress test positive for COVID
Reps. Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., and Joe Courtney, D-Conn., announced separately Sunday that they had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the list of members of Congress who have contracted the virus to nearly three dozen.
“Last week, I learned that I was inadvertently exposed to someone who would later test positive for COVID-19, although they weren’t aware of their positive status at the time,” Courtney said in a statement. “Upon learning of that initial exposure, I immediately began following the strict isolation guidelines laid out by the CDC and by my doctor while I waited to get a coronavirus test. After my first test came back negative, I continued to isolate but began to experience mild symptoms. I got another test and, this evening I was notified that the second test came back positive.”
Courtney said the experience reinforced his belief that “we’ve got to remain vigilant about wearing masks, social distancing, and the basic essentials like washing our hands frequently.”
Steil said in a statement that he tested positive after he began to experience mild symptoms over the weekend. He said he would begin “immediately quarantining” but plans to continue to work from home.
– William Cummings
Biden to tap longtime adviser Blinken for secretary of state
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden will name Antony Blinken, a veteran foreign policy official and longtime confidant, as his secretary of state.
Blinken, who held top-level national security and State Department positions during the Obama administration, has worked side-by-side with Biden on foreign policy issues for nearly two decades.
The 58-year-old Blinken was Biden’s staff director on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for six years, starting in 2002. When Biden became vice president, Blinken became his national security director – before President Barack Obama elevated him to higher positions, including the No. 2 job at the State Department.
– Deirdre Shesgreen
Antony Blinken:Biden to name long-time confidant Antony Blinken as secretary of state
