Trump-Biden transition live updates: Arizona, Wisconsin certify Biden win

Caroline Purser/iStockBy LIBBY CATHEY, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 51 days.

Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern:

Nov 30, 6:28 pm

Wisconsin governor certifies state’s election results

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the November general election, certifying the state’s results of the 2020 presidential election.

“Today I carried out my duty to certify the November 3rd election, and as required by state and federal law, I’ve signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” Evers said in statement.

The Trump campaign still has five days to appeal the recount results.

– ABC News’ Soorin Kim

Nov 30, 6:13 pm

Biden speaks with UN secretary general, leaders from Argentina, Costa Rica, Kenya

Biden continued his calls with world leaders Monday, speaking with Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

He also spoke with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. 

Biden has now spoken with world leaders from 18 different countries, including leaders of Italy, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Jordan, Chile, India, Israel and South Africa. He has also spoken with Pope Francis and had calls with NATO, the European Commission and European Council.

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Nov 30, 5:25 pm

Schumer expects ‘crocodile tears’ from GOP over Biden nominees

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in remarks from the Senate floor Monday that Biden’s Cabinet nominations should receive hearings in January “immediately” after the Georgia runoff elections and argued that Republicans are “grasping at straws” to explain their opposition to his nominees.

“I fully expect to see some crocodile tears spilled on the other side of the aisle over President-elect Biden’s Cabinet nominees, but it will be very tough to take those crocodile tears seriously,” Schumer said. “Our Republican colleagues are on the record supporting some of the least qualified most unethical and downright sycophantic nominees in recent memory.”

Schumer specifically defended Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Budget and Management, Neera Tanden, as “impenitently qualified” after some Senate Republicans have indicated hers will be an uphill confirmation battle.

“Neera Tanden, who has an endless stream of disparaging comments about the Republican Senators’ whose votes she’ll need, stands zero chance of being confirmed,” Drew Brandewie, spokesman for GOP Texas Sen. John Cornyn, tweeted Sunday.

Schumer also said the Senate’s “first and foremost” priority should be passing a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill.

-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin

Nov 30, 5:21 pm

Georgia recount continues ahead of Wednesday deadline

Gabriel Sterling, the statewide voting system implementation manager in Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office, said in an afternoon press conference that 43 of the state’s 159 counties are “essentially finished” with the state’s third count of the 2020 presidential election and ready to upload their results ahead of Wednesday’s midnight deadline.

“Our intention is to hold everybody’s feet to the fire and make that — that deadline, like we did with the hand audit. If we got it on the hand audit, we can get it on this one,” he said.

Asked how the results of the machine recount in the 43 counties compare to the counties’ certified results, Sterling said “they’re either spot on or not anything significant” changed.

Sterling also provided a breakdown of absentee ballot figures ahead of the Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections, saying there have been 947,928 ballots requested. He also took the opportunity to reiterate that for the upcoming election — as with the general election — both political parties can have observers watch the signature verification process.

The afternoon update came after Raffensperger earlier Monday slammed “those who are exploiting the emotions of many Trump supporters with fantastic claims, half-truths, misinformation, and frankly, they’re misleading the president, as well, apparently.” Sterling also likened their task of disputing false claims with “playing a game of Whac-A-Mole,” saying every time they shoot down one unfounded claim, another “new crazier one” pops up.

-ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan

Nov 30, 3:35 pm

Harris receives President’s Daily Brief

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received the President’s Daily Brief at the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier Monday, according to a Harris aide.

As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Harris had regular access to classified intelligence briefings, but Monday marked the first day she and Biden were slated to receive the President’s Daily Brief. It followed the Trump administration refusing to recognize their apparent win for 16 days.

-ABC News’ Averi Harper

Nov 30, 3:34 pm

Congressional inaugural committee to begin working with Biden inaugural team

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), tasked with executing the inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol and currently chaired by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who has not yet called Biden the president-elect, released a statement Monday afternoon saying that it would work with the Biden team but stopped short of recognizing the election results as decided.

“While the electoral process is still playing out, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is moving forward with plans for the swearing-in ceremonies that will be held on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021,” a spokesperson for the JCCIC said in a statement. “Now that Vice President Biden has announced his Presidential Inaugural Committee, we will begin coordination with the PIC at a staff level to continue planning for Inaugural Ceremonies that are traditional, safe, and inclusive.”

Though Blunt referred to Trump as “president-elect” in a statement released the day after the 2016 election, the Missouri Republican has deflected on using the term with Biden, telling CNN Sunday, “The president-elect will be the president-elect when the electors vote for him. There is no official job of president-elect.”

Earlier on Monday, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced the formation of their Presidential Inaugural Committee, responsible for organizing inauguration-related activities.

-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel


Nov 30, 2:07 pm
Arizona certifies election results, affirming Biden’s win

Arizona has certified the results of the 2020 presidential election, affirming Biden’s victory and officially granting him the state’s 11 electoral votes.

Secretary of State Kathy Hobbs, a Democrat, certified the vote in the presence of Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and GOP Attorney General Mark Brnovich, on Monday morning.

“This election was conducted with transparency, accuracy and fairness in accordance with Arizona’s laws and election procedures — despite numerous unfounded claims to the contrary,” Hobbs said.

Ducey added he’ll be signing the official documentation “today” to also make way for Arizona’s Senator-elect Mark Kelly, who beat GOP Sen. Martha McSally in a special election, to be sworn into office “as swiftly as possible” with the certification of his victory being hand-delivered to the U.S. Senate.

As Hobbs certified the vote, Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Guiliani vowed in an ongoing “hearing” to continue contesting results in the state.

-ABC News’ Meg Cunningham

Nov 30, 12:32 pm
Georgia’s secretary of state slams ‘dishonest actors,’ announces investigations into third-party groups

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger spoke before reporters Monday morning at the state capitol building in Atlanta and announced that his office has opened investigations into four third-party groups that he claimed are “working to register people in other states to vote here in Georgia.”

However, Raffensperger also maintained the 2020 presidential election was the most secure election in the state’s history and slammed against those peddling misinformation surrounding it.

“Once this recount is complete, everyone in Georgia will be able to have even more confidence in the results of our elections, despite the massive amounts of misinformation that is being spread by dishonest actors,” Raffensperger said, adding the state’s machine recount is on schedule to finish by the midnight Wednesday deadline.

“There are those who are exploiting the emotions of many Trump supporters with fantastic claims, half-truths, misinformation, and frankly, they’re misleading the president, as well, apparently,” he added.

Ahead of Senate runoffs Jan. 5, Raffensperger also warned, “Anyone telling you to boycott an election is not on your side.”

Gabriel Sterling, the statewide voting system implementation manager, blasted lawsuits questioning the credibility of the state’s electoral process as “fever dreams”and shot down the conspiracies about the election including that Dominion’s voting machines flipped votes.

“The ridiculous things claimed in these lawsuits are just that, they’re insanities, fever dream, made up, internet cabal,” he said. “Nothing was shipped from overseas. No votes were switched. We did a hand audit that proved no votes were switched.”

Sterling said he feels like he’s “playing a game of Whac-A-Mole”– that every time they shoot down one unfounded claim, another “new crazier one” pops up.

-ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan

Nov 30, 11:51 am
Trump discredits Georgia voting system ahead of Senate runoffs

Trump continues to discredit the voting system in Georgia, slamming GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — and in doing so, risks undercutting GOP efforts there by discouraging Republican voters ahead of two runoffs on Jan. 5 that will determine the balance of power in the United States Senate.

Referring to Kemp as “hapless,” Trump called on him via Twitter Monday morning to use his “emergency powers… to overrule his obstinate Secretary of State” and do signature matching for the absentee ballots again.

It’s unclear what emergency powers the president is referring to that the governor could execute, but signature matching for absentee ballots has already been conducted twice.

Signatures are matched first when a voter applied for an absentee ballot and then again when the voter returned their absentee ballot. Once the signature accompanying the returned ballot is verified, the ballots are separated from the envelopes and there is no way to re-match them because, under the Georgia state Constitution, a voter is entitled to a secret ballot. However, the envelopes are kept on file for two years.

It comes ahead of Trump traveling to Georgia on Saturday to campaign for the Republican candidates in the Senate runoffs.

-ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan


Nov 30, 10:08 am
Overview: Biden to get first Presidential Daily Brief, Trump legal team challenging Arizona certification

Biden is slated to receive his first Presidential Daily Brief Monday marking a milestone for the president-elect following a nearly three-week delay in the Trump administration recognizing him as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
 
It comes after Biden, who has pressed forward with his transition despite Trump’s roadblocks, announced he’ll enter the White House with an all-female communications team and unveiled his economic team Monday morning, naming former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as his nominee for Treasury Secretary, the first woman to hold the top job if confirmed.

In another challenge to his transition, the president-elect fractured his right foot while playing with his dog, Major, over the weekend, and is expected to wear a walking boot for several weeks.

Trump, meanwhile, isn’t acknowledging the loss even after appearing to come to terms with it on Thanksgiving and saying he would leave the White House if the Electoral College affirms Biden’s win.

In a defiant interview with Fox Business Sunday, Trump fired off false claims to sow doubt in the electoral process and vowed to continue legal battles with his team on Monday targeting Arizona’s certification deadline. Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and campaign adviser Jenna Ellis are expected to appear from D.C. at another non-official “hearing” of state GOP lawmakers at a Phoenix hotel Monday.

The day also brings a certification deadline in Wisconsin, where a recount paid for by the Trump campaign wrapped over the weekend brought Biden 87 additional votes.

Nov 30, 9:48 am
Biden rolls out economic team leaders

Biden has formally announced his economic team, including nominee Janet Yellen, who would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department, and the first person to have served as Treasury Secretary, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and chair of the Federal Reserve if confirmed.

Neera Tanden, nominated to to lead the Office of Management and Budget, would be the first woman of color in the role, if confirmed.

Here’s a breakdown of the economic positions announced Monday:

  • Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury
  • Neera Tanden, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
  • Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
  • Cecilia Rouse, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • Jared Bernstein, member of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • Heather Boushey, member of the Council of Economic Advisers

Nov 30, 8:52 am
Biden transition launches Presidential Inaugural Committee

The Biden transition is launching its Presidential Inaugural Committee, led by Tony Allen, president of Delaware State University, to organize activities around his swearing-in on Jan. 20. Several campaign officials including senior adviser Maju Varghese, national political director Eric Wilson and Nevada State Senator Yvanna Cancela, who also served as a senior adviser, will serve on the committee.

The team announced the following positions on Monday:

  • Tony Allen, Ph.D., chief executive officer
  • Maju Varghese, executive director
  • Erin Wilson, deputy executive director
  • Yvanna Cancela, deputy executive director

“This year’s inauguration will look different amid the pandemic, but we will honor the American inaugural traditions and engage Americans across the country while keeping everybody healthy and safe,” Allen said in a statement.

The committee says it will work with the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) to prioritize keeping people safe in the pandemic while engaging the public in the historic event.

Nov 30, 8:56 am
Deadlines and dead ends pile up losses for Trump

President Donald Trump could not be more clear in what he’s looking for — what he now needs — to hang on to power.

“It will take a brave judge or a brave legislature,” the president said on Fox News Sunday morning.

What Trump is pleading for is as improbable as it is breathtaking. But there appears to be just enough political bravery of a different sort, coming from state and federal judges as well as state lawmakers, to put the presidency where the voters delivered it early in this long month.

The weekend brought an end to Wisconsin’s partial recount — as funded by the Trump campaign — with Biden actually netting 87 additional votes, in results scheduled to be finalized Monday. The Trump campaign also lost yet another court challenge in Pennsylvania, this time with the state Supreme Court tossing out a challenge to absentee ballots.

Much attention has rightly focused on the unwillingness of Republican members of Congress to state what’s obvious — that Biden won and Trump lost.

But something profound has been happening at other levels of government. Lawmakers and judges from both political parties have rejected the president’s increasingly outlandish claims that he should be awarded a second term.

Those claims have expanded even as Trump’s losses pile up in courthouses and state houses. It has not been pretty, but the system continues to hold.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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