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Published 8:26 a.m. ET Dec. 9, 2020 | Updated 12:09 p.m. ET Dec. 9, 2020
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The President-elect says he wants a government as diverse as America when he enters the White House. Here are some of his Executive Branch picks.
USA TODAY
USA TODAY’s coverage of the 2020 election and President-elect Joe Biden’s transition continues this week as he rolls out more of his picks for top jobs in his administration. Meanwhile, the remaining final states certify their vote counts before the Electoral College ballots are officially cast Monday.
President Donald Trump has cleared the way for Biden’s team to use federal resources and get briefings during the transition, although Trump has yet to formally concede the race.
Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the election and the transition.
‘Schizophrenic’: McConnell slams Pelosi and Schumer for rejecting White House stimulus proposal
The stalemate in COVID-19 stimulus negotiations continued Wednesday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., attacked top Democrats’ rejection of the latest White House offer, while Democrats staked their hopes on a bipartisan group of nine senators negotiating a $908 billion proposal.
On Tuesday, McConnell had offered to drop one of Republicans’ largest priorities in negotiations – liability protections for businesses – if Democrats dropped one of their priorities – aid for state and local governments. Those sticking points could be resolved in another relief bill at the beginning of next year, he said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rejected McConnell’s approach, urging him to work with the bipartisan group instead and accusing him of “obstruction.”
Adding to the scramble to get a bill done before Congress leaves for Christmas, the White House and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin made their own $916 billion proposal Tuesday evening, an approach Democrats mostly rejected because of the small amount it provided for unemployment funds.
“In a bizarre and schizophrenic press release, the speaker and the leader said the administration was obstructing negotiations by negotiating. Two more brush offs in about two hours. More deflection, more delay, and more suffering for innocent Americans,” McConnell said.
“Cutting unemployment to the extent he has…it’s not going to get much support among any Democrats,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday, saying the bipartisan negotiations were the “way to go.”
But the provisions of the compromise bill have not been finalized yet. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, one of the senators working on the compromise proposal, told reporters on Capitol Hill the group was still “trying to finalize the language” on their proposal.
– Nicholas Wu
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to the media after a weekly luncheon in the US.. Capitol on Tuesday. (Photo: Pool, Getty Images)
Biden, Harris to select Fudge for HUD, Vilsack for agriculture
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will choose Rep. Marcia Fudge as their nominee for secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Tom Vilsack is their pick for secretary of agriculture.
Fudge is an Ohio Democrat representing the Cleveland area. She would be the second Black woman to lead HUD, which focuses on federal policy surrounding housing.
Vilsack would return to the position he held for eight years during the Obama administration. He also served two terms as Iowa’s governor.
Biden and Harris will introduce their Defense secretary nominee Lloyd Austin on Wednesday in Wilmington, Delaware.
– Sean Rossman, Rebecca Morin, Deborah Barfield Berry and the Associated Press
Nevada Supreme Court unanimously dismisses Trump lawsuit to overturn Nevada election result
The Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday night unanimously dismissed a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign that sought to overturn the state’s election result that found President-elect Joe Biden won by 33,596 votes.
In its ruling, the state’s high court said the campaign provided no evidence showing illegal votes were cast or anyone manipulated the results of the election in favor of Biden.
Trump’s campaign has filed dozens of failed lawsuits in battleground states across the country since the election, citing baseless allegations of voter fraud. The ruling in Nevada on Tuesday is just the latest example.
– Reno Gazette Journal and Associated Press
Supreme Court dismisses Trump allies’ challenge to Pennsylvania election
The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to stop Pennsylvania from finalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state despite allegations from allies of President Donald Trump that the expansion of mail-in voting was illegal .
The action by the nation’s highest court, which includes three justices named by Trump, came as states across the country are locking in the results that will lead to next week’s Electoral College vote. It represented the latest in a string of stinging judicial opinions that have left the president defeated both politically and legally.
By their one-sentence denial, the justices left intact a ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which said the challenge to a state law passed in 2019 came far too late. New Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett appeared to have participated in the case; no dissents or recusals were noted.
– Richard Wolf
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