By CATHERINE THORBECKE, ABC News(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 29 days.Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern:
Dec 22, 1:21 pmPence urges conservative crowd in Florida to ‘stay in the fight in our election’Vice President Mike Pence gave remarks at a giant, potential superspreader event in Florida Tuesday that was attended by thousands. Pence delivered remarks before the group Turning Point USA, which has been meeting this week at a West Palm Beach convention center. Pence told the crowd that, “It’s really is great to be here with so many friends during such a special week in the life of our nation.” “In this season of hope, hope is on the way,” Pence said. “And thanks to your president and incredible American ingenuity, under Operation Warp Speed, we have come to the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a medical miracle, and a promise made and a promise kept.” As he has done for weeks, Pence toed the line in terms of expressing support for President Trump’s attempts to subvert the election, mixing ambiguity on Trump’s moves — and implicit endorsement of them — with a push to defend Republicans’ Senate majority. “Come January 5th, we’re gonna hold the line in the United States Senate when we re-elect Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue to a Republican majority on Capitol Hill,” Pence said, as the crowd chanted “four more years.” He continued, “our election contest continues.””We’re going to keep fighting until every legal vote is counted,” Pence said to cheers. “We’re going to keep fighting until every illegal vote is thrown out.” Finally, he urged the enthusiastic, young attendees to “stay in the fight in our election” as they chanted, “stop the steal.”Dec 22, 1:15 pmLatest data on early voting for Georgia runoffsTuesday marks two weeks until the Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia that will decide which party controls the U.S. Senate. So far, at least 1,678,624 Georgians have voted, according to Georgia Votes’ analysis of the secretary of state’s absentee voter files, which include data for all voters casting absentee ballots by mail, as well as all in-person early voters. Compared to this point ahead of the general election, turnout is down 7%, according to Georgia Votes. Of the total votes, 621,098 are absentee by mail — which is down 21% compared to this point ahead of the general — and 1,057,526 are in-person early- voted ballots — which is up 5% compared to this point ahead of the general. While turnout is slightly down, nearly 50,000 voters (49,118) who’ve participated in the runoff election didn’t vote at all in the general election, according to Georgia Votes.
Dec 22, 11:34 amBiden expected to name Miguel Cardona, Conn. schools chief, as his pick for education secretaryPresident-elect Joe Biden is expected to name Miguel Cardona, who currently serves as Connecticut’s education commissioner, as his pick for secretary of education, sources familiar with the decision told ABC News on Tuesday. Throughout his presidential campaign Biden pledged to select a schoolteacher to lead the department, and Cardona fulfills that pledge, having started his career nearly two decades ago as an elementary school teacher in Connecticut, serving 10 years as a school principal and eventually rising through the ranks to become the state’s top education official last year. “First thing, as president of United States — not a joke — first thing I will do is make sure that the secretary of education is not Betsy DeVos, [and that] it is a teacher. A teacher. Promise,” Biden, who regularly criticized Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, said at a National Education Association forum in July of 2019.Cardona’s background and deep experience in the nation’s education system presents a striking contrast with DeVos, a wealthy, long-time Republican donor and political activist who has drawn sustained ire from Democrats and teachers unions throughout her tenure. Cardona, whose parents moved from Puerto Rico to Connecticut, would be the third Latino, and the first of Puerto Rican heritage, that Biden has named to serve in his Cabinet thus far, following Alejandro Mayorkas named to head the Department of Homeland Security and California Attorney General Xavier Beccera to head the Department of Health and Human Services.A spokesman for the Biden transition did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News on Cardona’s potential nomination.Dec 22, 9:30 amBiden applauds relief package, says ‘work is far from over’ After lawmakers finally approved a COVID-19 relief package on Monday evening, the president-elect welcomed the news on Twitter. ‘I applaud this relief package, but our work is far from over,’ Biden wrote. ‘Starting in the new year, Congress will need to immediately get to work on support for our COVID-19 plan.’He continued: ‘My message to everyone out there struggling right now: help is on the way.’ The $900 billion COVID-19 rescue package now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.Dec 22, 8:59 amBiden expands senior staff, names longtime aide Bruce Reed deputy chief of staff
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced additional members of the White House senior staff on Tuesday, including positions that will be key to how the West Wing operates over the next four years.The names announced Tuesday include Bruce Reed, a longtime aide to Biden who advised him on policy during the campaign, and someone who some progressives sought to block from getting a more prominent position in the administration, accusing him of being a deficit hawk out of step with their priorities. Reed was named deputy chief of staff. The other appointees announced Tuesday include Anne Filipic as White House director of management and administration; Ryan Montoya as White House director of scheduling and advance; Gautam Raghavan as White House deputy director of the office of presidential personnel; Vinay Reddy as director of speechwriting; and Elizabeth Wilkins as senior advisor to the chief of staff. “These experienced individuals are joining my administration to carry out policies that will put our nation on a path to building back better than ever before. They are respected leaders whose values and priorities align with my own and who will dutifully execute their roles to serve the American people. Their dedication to overcoming the challenges facing our country are rooted in their diverse backgrounds and experiences, helping deliver the change America needs in these difficult times,” the president-elect said in a statement.
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