Biden says he hasn’t spoken to McConnell yet
From CNN’s Sarah Mucha
As President-elect Joe Biden exited The Queen theater following his event announcing his economic team in Wilmington, Delaware, he answered a few shouted questions from the pool from afar before he got into his SUV.
He said that he hasn’t yet spoken to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Not yet,” Biden said when asked if he’s spoken to McConnell.
Asked whether he supports the $900 billion stimulus proposal, he replied, “I’ve just heard about it. I’ll take a look at it when I get back.”
Biden did not answer a shouted question about whether he plans to go to Georgia to campaign ahead of the Senate runoff.
The door is closing on Biden choosing nominees from Congress
From MJ Lee and Jeff Zeleny
As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to announce more key appointments to his administration, the door is closing on the prospect of tapping a nominee from one of his most cherished places in Washington: the halls of Congress.
Inside his transition team, there is a real recognition of how difficult it would be to choose a Senate Democrat for any role, given how closely divided the upper chamber will be next year.
And the narrowing Democratic majority in the House has made it far less likely that he would be able to easily turn to any House members for posts in the administration.
Multiple sources familiar with the transition say that regardless of what happens in the two Senate runoff races in Georgia next month – where even in the best case for Democrats, the Senate would be split evenly with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote – the bar would be extremely high for Biden to appoint a Senate Democrat to an administration role and take them out of Congress.
What Biden has indicated to allies is that “it would be really, really hard to take someone out of the Senate because the margin is so slim, no matter what happens in Georgia,” one source said. He echoed that sentiment in his interview with NBC News last month.
It certainly doesn’t mean there is no chance that Biden would do it – but it would need to be for the right person and for the right job, and if the person hails from a state where their Senate replacement would be appointed by a governor who guaranteed naming another Democrat. And in the House, even in a safe Democratic district, a vacancy could complicate close votes before a special election could be held.
We’ve already seen the effects of that political calculation. As CNN reported earlier this week, Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth was in the mix for the defense secretary job, but is now longer getting a serious look given Biden’s reluctance to create any vacancies in the Senate.
Alabama Sen. Doug Jones is under consideration for attorney general, but Jones lost his seat last month and is leaving the Senate. The only two remaining Democratic senators in the mix for positions appear to be New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall for Interior secretary and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for Labor secretary, although Republicans have said prospects for confirmation are slim.
Biden introduced top members of his economic team today. Here are key lines from their speeches.
President-elect Joe Biden unveiled the top members of his economic team this afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware. They will be tasked with leading the incoming administration’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The nominees outlined their vision of the US economy and their role. Here’s some of what they had to say:
Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury nominee
Yellen said that the nation is “facing historic crises” like those the US saw during the Great Recession.
“The pandemic and economic fallout together have caused so much damage for so many and had disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable among us. Lost lives, lost jobs, small businesses struggling to stay alive are closed for good. So many people struggling to put food on the table and pay bills and rent.”
Yellen said “it is essential we move with urgency” to address the economic problems in America today.
“Inaction will produce self reinforcing downturn causing yet more devastation,” the nominee added.
If confirmed, Yellen would be the first woman to be treasury secretary.
Neera Tanden, Director of the Office of Management and Budget nominee
Tanden said it is her “profound honor to help shape the budgets and programs to keep lifting Americans up, to pull families back from the brink, to give everybody the fair chance my mom got, and that every single person deserves.”
“That’s the America they were drawn to, the America the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect are ready to grow,” the nominee added.
Tanden noted that as Vice President-elect Harris, her mother also was born in India and immigrated to the US to pursue a better life.
If confirmed, the nominee would be the first woman of color and first South Asian American to oversee the office.
Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury nominee
Adeyamo said he looks forward to working at Treasury with Janet Yellen “to reduce inequality in this country, expand the middle class, make sure we build an economy that works for everyone.”
He said the country “must also remain laser focused” in the treasury department’s role in “protecting national security.”
“This includes using sanctions regime to hold bad actors accountable, dismantling financial networks of terrorist organizations and others that seek to do us harm, ensuring foreign investment policy protects America’s national security interests.”
He said, “The challenges before us today are unlike anything we have ever faced.”
If confirmed, Adeyemo would be the first Black deputy Treasury Secretary.
Cecilia Rouse, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers nominee
Rouse said that the country is facing a moment of urgency and opportunity, unlike any we faced in modern times.”
“The urgency of ending a devastating crisis and the opportunity to build a better economy in its wake, an economy that works for everyone, brings fulfilling job opportunities and leaves no one to fall through the cracks.”
Jared Bernstein, selected as member of the Council of Economic Advisers
Bernstein said the Biden-Harris economic agenda is ‘”timely, resonant, and visionary.”
“Yes, they stressed the urgent need to control the virus, provide the relief needed to help families and businesses get to the other side of the crisis. But they’ve been just as adamant that simply getting back to where we were sets the bar too low.”
He added that the US must create an economy “that’s far more resilient, far more fair, and far more inclusive.”
Heather Boushey, selected as member of the Council of Economic Advisers
Boushey said she’s dedicated her career to figuring out how we can grow and sustain the middle class.”
She said the American economy should “uproot the gender barriers and racial barriers that leave too many Americans outside the dream looking in.”
Learn more about Biden’s picks here.
“A first rate team”: Biden introduces key members of economic team tasked with Covid-19 recovery
From CNN’s Jeff Zeleny, Kate Sullivan Sarah Mucha and Jasmine Wright
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are formally introducing key members of their economic team at an event happening now in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden pledged that his diverse team will create a recovery “for everybody” to get the economy moving again and promised that “help is on the way.”
“A first rate team that is going to get us through this ongoing economic crisis and help us build the economy back, not just build it back, but build it back better than it was before. A team that’s tested and experienced,” Biden said of the nominees and appointees sitting at tables at both sides of the President-elect.
“It includes groundbreaking Americans who come from different backgrounds but who share my core vision for relief here in the United States of America,” Biden continued.
Yesterday, Biden made the long-expected announcement of Janet Yellen as treasury secretary along with three other women in top roles on a diverse team that will be tasked with helping lead Biden’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic and meet the former vice president’s campaign promises of narrowing economic disparities.
If confirmed, Yellen would be the first woman to be treasury secretary.
Among the other barrier-breaking nominees Biden announced is Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, president of the Obama Foundation in Chicago, for deputy Treasury Secretary, serving under Yellen. If confirmed, he would be the first Black deputy Treasury Secretary. Biden also named Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget. If confirmed, she would be the first woman of color and first South Asian American to oversee it.
Harris declared “this is the right team for this moment,” and thanked all for their continued government service.
Here’s a look at the list of nominations and appointments:
- Janet Yellen: Nominated to serve as Secretary of the Treasury.
- Neera Tanden: Nominated to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
- Wally Adeyemo: Nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
- Cecilia Rouse: Nominated to serve as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.
- Jared Bernstein: Selected as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
- Heather Boushey: Selected as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
The President-elect called on Congress to pass a “robust package” for relief but urged that anything passed during the lame duck session will almost certainly at best be “just a start.”
“Let’s begin the work to heal, to unite, to rebuild an economy for all Americans. They deserve and expect nothing less,” Biden said.
Read more about Biden’s picks here.
Watch:
Soon: Biden and Harris will introduce economic team in Delaware
From CNN’s Jeff Zeleny and Kate Sullivan
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will formally introduce key members of their economic team shortly at an event in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden made the long-expected announcement of Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary yesterday along with three other women in top roles on a diverse team that will help him navigate the nation’s punishing fiscal headwinds in hopes of building an economic recovery.
They will also be tasked with the Biden-Harris administration’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This team is comprised of respected and tested groundbreaking public servants who will help the communities hardest hit by COVID-19 and address the structural inequities in our economy,” Biden said in a statement yesterday on the nominations.
Second half of Biden’s economic team will be unveiled in the coming days
From CNN’s Jeff Zeleny
President-elect Joe Biden is formally introducing his economic team shortly in Delaware, with Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, OMB Director and the Council of Economic Advisers expected to stand on stage with him in Wilmington.
But today’s announcement is only one part of his economic team. Biden has settled on Brian Deese to lead the National Economic Council, people familiar with the transition tell CNN, and is still making final decisions on US Trade Representative, Commerce Secretary and others posts. Those announcements will be made in the coming days, transition officials say.
So what’s the difference between the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council? A simple way to look at the CEA is “the president’s think tank on the economy.”
Cecilia Rouse, who will be nominated to lead the CEA, will be joined by Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey. The three-member Council of Economic Advisers was formed in 1946 to give economic advice to the president.
The National Economic Council was formed in 1993, during the Clinton administration, to coordinate policy across the government. It does not require Senate confirmation like the CEA.
As CNN reported on Sunday, Deese will play a lead role in implementing economic policy of the Biden administration. He is a veteran of the Obama-Biden administration, leading the auto rescue package and the economic recovery act. He was elevated through the ranks from deputy director of the NEC to deputy director of OMB. He played a key role in the Paris climate accords in 2015.
Schumer says he’ll meet with 2 of Biden’s nominees today
From CNN’s Ali Main
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will meet Tuesday with two of President-elect Joe Biden’s top nominees, a sign Democrats are pressing forward with the transition process even as key Senate Republicans are holding back from calling Biden the President-elect.
Schumer said he would meet via video chat with Antony Blinken and Avril Haines, Biden’s respective intended nominees for Secretary of State and Director of National Intelligence —which require Senate confirmations — to discuss “how to repair some of the damage to America’s reputation and relationships abroad done by the past administration.”
This comes during Schumer’s push for the Senate to hold confirmation hearings for Biden’s nominees immediately after the Jan. 5 Georgia runoff elections, which will determine the chamber’s balance of power.
The New York Democrat was again critical of his Republican colleagues’ resistance to Neera Tanden, Biden’s choice to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
He pointed out that GOP senators confirmed President Trump’s own OMB Director Russell Vought’s nomination, despite his involvement in the Ukraine scandal that led to the President’s impeachment and controversial rhetoric about Muslims.
“The Republican majority confirmed him, despite these inflammatory comments and despite his conduct as an interim director and despite his career as a partisan warrior. But a few critical tweets about substantive policy positions have caused Senate Republicans to label Miss Tanden’s nomination quote ‘radioactive.’ Spare us the hyperbole,” Schumer said.
The Senate minority leader also called for Congress to pass bipartisan coronavirus relief legislation.
Biden’s inauguration is next month. Here are key dates to watch from now until then.
From CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf, Will Muller and Kevin Liptak
President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration is just 50 days away, and preparations have begun on what likely will be a scaled back event due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The transition has now started, and members of Trump’s administration are talking to the Biden team about what to expect when they enter office in January.
Trump meanwhile has declined to offer a timeline for when he might ease up his losing battle to overturn the election results and has not said whether he will attend Biden’s inauguration.
Here’s a look at some key dates from now until Inauguration Day:
Dec. 8
- “Safe harbor” to determine election results and assign electors: Under the Electoral Count Act, this is the date by which states are meant to have counted votes, settled disputes, and determined the winner of their electoral college votes. Governors are supposed to create certificates of ascertainment listing the winner of the election and the slate of electors. In 2000, the Supreme Court ended a targeted recount in Florida because it could not be completed by this safe harbor date. That recount would not have changed the outcome of the election, but a full statewide recount could have made Al Gore president. This is when it could become very important for Republicans that they control more state legislatures than Democrats, including in most of the contested 2020 battleground states.
Dec. 14
- Electoral votes cast: In law this date is the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. This year it falls on December 14. Six days after disputes are supposed to be settled, electors are supposed to meet in their respective states and cast votes for US President. They certify six sets of votes and send them to Washington. Many states have laws requiring their electors to support the winner of their state’s election and can levy fines against faithless electors who go their own way.
Dec. 23
- Electoral votes must arrive in Washington: The certified electoral votes have nine days to get from their states to Capitol Hill.
Jan. 3
- New Congress is sworn in: Members of the House and new members of the Senate take the oath of office at noon. This is the official start of the 117th Congress.
Jan. 6
- Electoral votes counted: Members of the House and the Senate all meet in the House chamber. The President of the Senate (that’s Vice President Mike Pence) presides over the session and the Electoral votes are read and counted in alphabetical order by two appointees each from the House and Senate. They then give their tallies to Pence, who announces the results and listens for objections. If there are objections or if there are, somehow, multiple slates of electors put forward by a state, the House and Senate consider them separately to decide how to count those votes.There are 538 electoral votes — one for each congressman and senator plus three for Washington, DC. If no candidate gets 270, the 435 members of the House decide the election. Each state gets a vote. The House has until noon on Jan. 20 to pick the President. If they can’t, it would be the vice president or the next person eligible in the line of presidential succession.
Jan. 20
- Inauguration Day: A new president takes the oath of office at noon. In a disputed election, if the House has not chosen a President but the Senate has chosen a vice president, the vice president-elect becomes acting president until the House makes a choice. And if there’s no president-elect and no vice president-elect, the House appoints a president until one is chosen.
More than 940,000 absentee ballot have been requested in Georgia for the Senate runoff
From CNN’s Caroline Kelly, Jason Morris, Ethan Cohen and Tori Apodaca
More than 940,000 mail-in ballots have been requested in Georgia for the January 5 runoff election that will decide which party controls the Senate, Gabriel Sterling, the state’s voting systems implementation manager, said Monday.
That includes 604,255 people who are eligible to receive mail-in ballots automatically, according to Sterling. For comparison, 1,322,529 absentee ballots were cast in November’s general election, according to a release from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
Sterling said that 1,040 ballots have been returned so far, a “small trickle that we expect to get larger soon.”
Republicans are struggling to encourage voters to back incumbent Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue as President Donald Trump continues to cast doubt on the results of the presidential election.
If either of the incumbent Republicans hold onto their seats, the party will retain its majority control in the chamber. If Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock both prevail, however, Democrats would gain control of the Senate thanks to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
