Harris: “getting rid of the Affordable Care Act will take us backwards”
From CNN’s Ariane de Vogue and Eric Bradner
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is delivering remarks now from Wilmington, Delaware, on the Affordable Care Act.
“If the Supreme Court agrees with the opponents of the act, their decision could take health care away from 20 million Americans. It could take away protections from more than 100 million people with pre-existing conditions in our country, and hurt the millions of Americans who have come to rely on the Affordable Care Act, getting rid of the Affordable Care Act will take us backwards,” Harris said.
President-elect Joe Biden, who campaigned on a promise to keep and build on Obamacare, is expected to speak soon as well.
The speech comes the day Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments in the case that seeks to overturn the landmark health reform law.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested Tuesday that it wasn’t the Supreme Court’s role to invalidate the entire sprawling, 900-page Affordable Care Act, even if one or more provisions are deemed unconstitutional, signaling the key parts of Obamacare will survive the latest court challenge.
The Trump administration and several Republican-led states are asking the court to strike down the law, 10 years after it was passed, potentially impacting millions of Americans.
Read more about the oral arguments today in the Supreme Court here.
Most Senate Republicans continue to suggest the election hasn’t been decided
From CNN’s Ali Zaslav
Many Senate Republicans continued to suggest Tuesday that the presidential election has not yet been decided, despite Joe Biden being the projected winner and no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud in this year’s contest.
Asked if he congratulated President-elect Biden, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said “no,” there’s “nothing to congratulate him about.”
In an odd remark, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds told reporters the decision for most GOP not to congratulate Biden is “not through any ill will, it’s simply a fact, number one, most of us do not have a direct contact with Mr. Biden.”
The South Dakota senator continued, “Second of all, right now, we are still awaiting, and we still expect that President Trump will continue as long as he believes there’s a problem with the election to follow his legal recourse, which he has every right to do and which he owes his followers.”
GOP Sen. Rick Scott of Florida dodged the same question, saying, “first off, we need to finish all the votes, all the votes need to be counted.”
When a reporter followed up that the presidential race was closer in 2016, then it is now, and Republicans congratulated President Trump then, Scott didn’t directly respond. He just repeated his claim that “we need to get all the votes” and “there a lot of challenges out there still.”
Scott declined to answer when asked if he’s seen evidence of fraud.
Sen. Deb Fischer dodged reporter questions on whether it’s time to acknowledge that Biden has won the election. Fischer replied that President Trump “does have those legal options.”
The Nebraska Republican also said she’s “not at all” worried that Republicans refusing to acknowledge Biden’s win is fueling conspiracy theories.
Other lawmakers did not answer reporters when asked whether they congratulated Biden or if it’s time to acknowledge that he won, including GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.
Turkish president thanks Trump for “warm friendship”
From CNN’s Gul Tuysuz
In addition to the message of congratulations President Erdogan sent to President-elect Joe Biden today, he also sent a message to President Trump.
“I would like to sincerely thank you once again for your ever warm friendship,” he said.
Also in the message from the Turkish presidency Communications Directorate, Erdogan said, “No matter how the official election result is certified, I am grateful for your sincere and determined vision for the development of the Turkey-U.S. relations on the basis of our mutual interests and shared values over the course of your four-year presidential term.”
Irish prime minister says he invited Biden to Ireland to “properly mark” his success
From CNN’s Richard Greene and Lauren Kent
Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin spoke with President-elect Biden and invited him to Ireland to “properly mark” his election success, Martin said on Tuesday.
The Irish Prime Minister also said Biden underlined his commitment to the Good Friday peace agreement, which was signed in 1998 and helped end years of deadly sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
“I’ve had a warm and engaging call with US President Elect @joebiden. He brings tremendous knowledge & understanding to his new role, and has a great love for his Irish heritage. He underlined his commitment to the Good Friday Agreement & we spoke of importance of multilateralism,” Martin said in a Tuesday tweet sent at 5:53 p.m. local time
Martin added, “… for example, the Paris Accord and the WHO. I congratulated him on the historic nature of his election and that of @KamalaHarris and we agreed to work closely together. I also invited him and @DrBiden to come back to Ireland when we will properly mark their success.”
Ten of President-elect Biden’s 16 great-great-grandparents were born in Ireland, according to the Irish for Biden campaign.
On Saturday, as CNN projected Biden’s White House win, residents of Ballina, Ireland, celebrated their distant kin’s success throughout the town.
Martin’s tweet follows announcements from other European leaders who also spoke to Biden on Tuesday, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
See the Martin’s tweet:
German chancellor tells President-elect Biden she hopes for close working relationship
From CNN’s Fred Pleitgen in Berlin
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday to congratulate him and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on winning the election, according to a statement from the Chancellor’s spokesperson.
On the call, Merkel told Biden she hopes for a close and trusting working relationship.
“Today, Chancellor Angela Merkel held a phone call with the designated President of the United States, Joe Biden. She congratulated him and the designated Vice President, Kamala Harris, to their election victory. The Chancellor expressed the wish for close and trust-based cooperation,” the German chancellor’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said.
“The Chancellor and the designated President agreed that the transatlantic relations are of high importance due to the many global challenges,” he added.
The Chancellor’s office did not say what time on Tuesday the call between Merkel and Biden took place.
It was also announced Tuesday that the British, French, and Irish leaders called Biden, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking to Biden at 4:00 p.m. local (11 a.m. ET), and French President Emmanuel Macron calling at 5:30 p.m. local (11:30 p.m. ET).
Despite Biden win, secretary of state says there will be “smooth transition to a second Trump administration”
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to accept Joe Biden’s victory as President-elect, saying at the State Department Tuesday that “there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.”
Remember: Major new organizations, including CNN, projected Biden will win the presidential election on Saturday. President Trump has launched a series of legal challenges to the results and has not yet conceded to Biden — yet concession is a custom, not something required under the law.
But today, when asked about if the State Department is preparing to engage with the Biden transition team, Pompeo said this:
“There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration. Right. The world is watching what’s taking place. We’re gonna count all the votes. When the process is completed, they’ll be electors selected. There’s a process, the constitution lays it out pretty clearly. The world should have every confidence that the transition necessary to make sure that the State Department is functional today, successful today and successful with a president who’s in office on January 20 a minute after noon will also be successful.”
Pompeo would not say whether he believed there was massive voter fraud (Remember: there’s no evidence of widespread voting fraud.) But Pompeo did say, “I’m getting calls from all across the world. These people are watching our election. They understand that we have a legal process. They understand that this takes time, right, took us 37 plus days in an election back in 2000, conducted successful transition then.”
“I’m very confident that we will count, and we must count, every legal vote. We must make sure that any vote that wasn’t lawful ought not be counted. That dilutes your vote, if it’s done improperly. Gotta get that right, when we get it right, we’ll get it right, we’re in good shape,” he added.
Pence arrives at GOP lunch and doesn’t answer questions about voter fraud allegations
From CNN’s Manu Raju
Vice President Mike Pence arrives to Senate GOP lunch.
He didn’t answer questions about voter fraud allegations. Remember: there’s no evidence of widespread voting fraud and President Trump’s claims that the election was rigged are baseless.
Trump has vowed to challenge 2020 election results and has yet to publicly concede.
Biden will deliver speech on Obamacare at 2 p.m. ET
From CNN’s Ariane de Vogue and Eric Bradner
President-elect Joe Biden, who campaigned on a promise to keep and build on Obamacare, is set to deliver a health care-focused speech Tuesday after the Supreme Court heard a case that could overturn the law.
Biden’s transition team scheduled a 2 p.m. ET speech on the Affordable Care Act in Wilmington, Delaware.
The speech comes the day Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments in the case that seeks to overturn the landmark health reform law.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested Tuesday that it wasn’t the Supreme Court’s role to invalidate the entire sprawling, 900-page Affordable Care Act, even if one or more provisions are deemed unconstitutional, signaling the key parts of Obamacare will survive the latest court challenge.
The Trump administration and several Republican-led states are asking the court to strike down the law, 10 years after it was passed, potentially impacting millions of Americans. Should Roberts and Kavanaugh, at the very least, side with the court’s three liberals, the law would remain intact.
Read more about the oral arguments today in the Supreme Court here.
Kamala Harris’ husband to sever ties with law firm by Inauguration
From CNN’s Jasmine Wright
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ husband, will transition his client practice and sever all ties with his law firm DLA Piper by Inauguration Day, according to a campaign spokesperson.
Emhoff, a partner of the group, took a leave of absence from DLA soon after Harris was picked to be President-elect Joe Biden’s running mate in August.
Since then, he devoted a majority of his days to campaigning for the ticket, both online and in person. Emhoff practiced law in intellectual property and technology and sectors include media, sports and entertainment, according to the firm’s website.
The spokesperson added that Emhoff will work with the Biden-Harris transition team to develop a portfolio, that will support the work of the administration.
AP News was the first to report.
