Networks call Georgia for Biden as security officials say vote was ‘secure’
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Your support makes all the difference.As Donald Trump continues to refuse conceding the 2020 presidential race to Joe Biden, the president-elect was said to have spoken with Senate Republicans who have begun to admit he should at least receive intelligence briefings that have so far been denied.
On Friday afternoon most networks called Georgia for Mr Biden and North Carolina for Mr Trump bringing their respective electoral college vote totals to 306 to 232.
US federal and state cybersecurity officials, meanwhile, have delivered a direct rebuke to Donald Trump, who continues to allege irregularities and widespread fraud without evidence.
Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the 3 November vote was “the most secure in history" in a report published Thursday, and added that Americans should trust the result. His agency had not find any evidence of ballots being lost, deleted or altered, he said.
Biden lines up ex-Google boss for White House role as Mark Zuckerberg could face hostile reception
Joe Biden may give ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt a top administration role but Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg could face a more hostile reception from the president-elect.
Mr Schmidt, who ran the search giant from 2001 to 2011, is being considered to lead a new technology industry task force in the White House, says a report.
But Mr Zuckerberg may have some work to do after Facebook’s decision to not fact-check political ads during the campaign “irritated” Mr Biden, according to the Financial Times.
Graeme Massie reports:
Biden lines up ex-Google boss for White House role as Mark Zuckerberg could face hostile reception
Mr Biden has been a vocal critic of the social media giant
America’s closest allies acknowledge Biden victory despite Trump’s refusal
World leaders and allies to the United States have acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden following the news he was the projected winner of the 2020 election.
According to the Biden-Harris transition team, Mr Biden spoke with the following leaders on Tuesday:
- President Emmanuel Macron of France
- Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany
- Prime Minister Micheál Martin of Ireland
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom
The calls included Mr Biden relying his interest to the world leaders in “reinvigorating bilateral and trans-Atlantic ties, including through NATO and EU,” according to readouts released by the Biden-Harris transition team.
Mr Biden also spoke with the world leaders about the current coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada called Mr Biden on Monday to congratulate him on winning the presidential election. In a tweet, Mr Trudeau revealed the pair also discussed topics relating to NATO and the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel also congratulated Mr Biden over the weekend for his win, which was a blow to the Trump administration given their close ties to the world leader.
More details about Mr Biden’s phone calls on Tuesday here:
Photo resurfaces of Biden welcoming Pence to White House for ‘smooth transition of power’
The political climate in the United States starkly differed four years ago from today.
Donald Trump, after shocking pollsters and winning the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, was welcomed to the White House by then-President Barack Obama to start the peaceful transfer of power between the two administrations.
Included in that transition of power was then-Vice President Joe Biden meeting with Mike Pence.
Full story here:
Photo resurfaces of Biden welcoming Pence to White House exactly four years ago
‘I just met with @VP-elect Pence at the @WhiteHouse to offer our support for a smooth, seamless transition of power,’ Mr Biden wrote at the time
What happens if Trump refuses to concede US election now Biden has won?
Donald Trump falsely declared victory on the night of the election and vowed to go to the Supreme Court to stop vote counting - confirming some Americans’ worst fears that he would undermine the democratic process.
Now Joe Biden has won the US election, what happens if the president refuses to leave the White House?
Joe Middleton with his report of how the next couple of months could go:
What happens if Trump refuses to concede US election?
What would happen if Trump refuses to leave White House now Biden has won the election?
ICYMI: Trump administration still vetting for jobs for their second term
The Trump administration is continuing to vet potential nominees for a second term, maintaining the charade of electoral victory despite the election being called for Joe Biden.
Two sources told The Daily Beast that the White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) was still processing candidates for jobs across the federal government which would be taken up in early 2021.
Mr Biden’s inauguration is set for 20 January.
Harriet Alexander has the story:
Trump administration still vetting for jobs for their second term
John McEntee, an ultra-loyalist to the Trump administration, is continuing to interview for second-term roles
Pence cancels holiday
Vice President Mike Pence has cancelled a visit to Florida and will now stay in Washington as Donald Trump launches his various legal efforts to contest the results of the election in several states.
Mr Pence had been expected to fly on Tuesday evening to Southwest Florida International Airport before heading to the holiday island of Sanibel, where he was to stay until Saturday. His office has so far not issued a statement on his trip or its reported cancellation.
For the full details, click below:
Pence cancels holiday to Florida as Trump launches legal battles over election
Vice President Mike Pence was expected to stay in Sanibel, Florida from Tuesday till Saturday
Democrats retain House
Democrats will retain their majority in the House of Representatives for two more years, after securing the necessary 218 seats in the 435-member chamber.
The victory in the House is bittersweet, however, with the party’s majority proving to be smaller than in the last term as some of their incumbents lost to GOP challengers.
According to the Associated Press, the party could be on course to win just a few more seats by the time more votes are counted.
Democrats retain House majority: ‘We lost some battles but we’ve won the war’
Despite clinching the House, Democrats have suffered losses in key states and face a tough battle to take the Senate
Fauci says he ‘hopes’ Trump doesn’t fire him
The coronavirus taskforce's infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, said he hopes Donald Trump doesn't fire him following veiled threats from the president during pre-election campaign rallies.
“I hope not,” Mr Fauci told MSNBC. “I don’t think that would be helpful to the common goal of all of us, no matter who you are, regardless of administration. We all want this pandemic to end."
Justin Vallejo reports:
Anthony Fauci hopes Trump doesn’t fire him after veiled threats
The president suggested at a campaign rally that he would wait until after the election to fire Mr Fauci
Trump campaign set to file Michigan lawsuit
Donald Trump's campaign said on Tuesday it would file a lawsuit to stop the battleground state of Michigan from certifying its election results, as congressional Democrats said a witness who had raised accusations of ballot tampering in Pennsylvania renounced his allegations.
The Michigan lawsuit will request that election results in the state not be certified until it can be verified that votes were cast lawfully, Trump campaign attorney Matt Morgan told reporters on a conference call.
It was the latest in a string of lawsuits the Trump campaign has filed since Democrat Joe Biden captured the presidency with wins in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that there was widespread voting fraud - and has not accepted defeat.
Judges, meanwhile, have already thrown out lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia brought by the campaign, and legal experts say Mr Trump's litigation has little chance of changing the outcome of the election.
Reuters
Biden votes surpass 77m
Joe Biden was reported to have amasses more than 77 million votes in last week’s presidential election, as of Wednesday morning.
The tally comes as some states continued to count and process ballots following his projected win against Donald Trump on Saturday.
More than 150 million people voted in the presidential election overall, the Associated Press reported, while the president-elect received over 5 million more votes than Mr Trump.
Mr Biden has so far secured 290 votes in the Electoral College to Mr Trump's 214. with winners still to be determined in Alaska, Georgia and North Carolina.
Mr Biden, having surpassed the 270 electoral college votes needed to win, will assume office on 20 January.
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