Bet_Noire/iStockBy LIBBY CATHEY, LAUREN KING and ADIA ROBINSON, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 41 days.
Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern:
Dec 10, 11:06 am
Biden confirms Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs secretaries
President-elect Joe Biden announced more members of his administration, confirming his picks for secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, along with his pick for trade representative and director of the Domestic Policy Council.
Tom Vilsack — secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack, a two-term governor of Iowa, served as secretary of Agriculture during the entire Obama-Biden administration.
Rep. Marcia Fudge — secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Fudge has represented Ohio’s 11th Congressional District for the last 12 years. If confirmed, she will be the first woman to lead the department in more than 40 years.
Denis McDonough — secretary of Veterans Affairs. McDonough served as White House chief of staff, deputy national security adviser and chief of staff of the National Security Council during the Obama administration.
Katherine Tai — U.S. trade representative. Tai currently serves as the chief lawyer on trade for the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives and previously was chief counsel for China trade enforcement in the office of the U.S. trade representative.
Susan Rice — director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. Rice served as national security adviser under President Obama from 2013-2017 and before that held the position of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2009-2013.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 10, 9:56 am
Overview: Trump, GOP loyalists hope SCOTUS takes up election challenge while Biden Cabinet pick raises questions
President Donald Trump and a long line of his Republican supporters are hoping the Supreme Court will agree to take up a long-shot Texas lawsuit seeking to invalidate the results of the 2020 election in four key swing states.
Republican attorneys general from 17 states filed in support of Texas, as did a group of conservative lawyers and personalities.
Trump himself also sought to join the suit. He is scheduled to meet with 12 state attorneys general on Thursday, 10 of whom filed in support of the suit.
Since his Nov. 3 defeat, the president and his allies have mounted over 50 lawsuits in state and federal courts that have met with resounding and, at times, scathing defeats. On social media, Trump suggested the Supreme Court would finally give him the hearing he has been seeking.
“The case that everyone has been waiting for is the State’s case with Texas and numerous others joining. It is very strong, ALL CRITERIA MET,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, is raising questions about civilian control of the military.
In order for Austin to serve as defense secretary he will require a waiver from both houses of Congress — the waiver is needed because Austin retired from the Army four years ago, which is less than the seven-year gap any nominee to be a secretary of defense must have from the end of their military service.
If approved, Austin would only be the third to receive the waiver to take the position, but the second in four years.
Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns that they will be asked to once again consider a waiver just four years after they voted to do so for retired Marine Gen. James Mattis. Being asked to give Austin the waiver places the 17 Democratic senators and 150 Democratic House Representatives who voted against the Mattis waiver in an awkward position.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer, Olivia Rubin, Matt Mosk and Luis Martinez
Dec 10, 7:41 am
Biden to campaign in Georgia next Tuesday
President-elect Joe Biden will travel to Georgia on Tuesday Dec. 15 to campaign for Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock in their Senate runoff races, the Biden transition has announced.
Biden’s visit will come during the first week of early voting in the Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections that could determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. Senate.
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