Joe Biden introduces his climate team, says ‘no time to waste’
By KEVIN FREKING WILMINGTON: Just as the United States (US) has needed a unified, national response to COVID-19, it needs one for dealing with climate change, President-elect Joe Biden said Saturday as he rolled out key members of his environmental team. “We literally have no time to waste,” Biden told reporters as introduced his choices. […]
Close but not yet: Deal near on COVID-19 economic aid bill
By ANDREW TAYLOR WASHINGTON: Congressional negotiators are closing in on a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package that would deliver additional help to businesses, $300 per week jobless checks, and $600 stimulus payments to most Americans. But there was no deal quite yet. The long-delayed measure was coming together as Capitol Hill combatants finally fashioned […]
Turning the page? Republicans acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory
By WILL WEISSERT WASHINGTON:More than a month after the election, top Republicans finally acknowledged Joe Biden as the next U.S. president on Tuesday, a collapse in GOP resistance to the millions of voters who decisively chose the Democrat. Foreign leaders joined the parade, too, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Speaking from the floor of the U.S. […]
Donald Trump voters accept Joe Biden victory ‘with reservations’
By JILL COLVIN and JONATHAN COOPER WASHINGTON: Robert Reed says he will always believe the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump. The retired police officer-turned-construction worker believes fraud marred the vote, no matter how many courts rejected that claim. Still, a day after the Electoral College made Joe Biden’s win official, the ardent […]
Finally,Russia and Mexico congratulate Joe Biden after long silence
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Joe Biden a congratulatory telegram after the Electoral College formalized his victory in the November 3 election, making him among the last world leaders to recognize the US president-elect. Beside Russian President, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday said he had congratulated Joe Biden on his U.S. presidential […]
In a first, leading Republicans call Joe Biden president-elect
By LISA MASCARO WASHINGTON:For the first time, a groundswell of leading Republicans said Monday that Democrat Joe Biden is the winner of the presidential election, essentially abandoning President Donald Trump’s assault on the outcome after the Electoral College certified the vote. With states affirming the results, the Republicans faced a pivotal choice – to declare […]
Electoral College makes it official: Joe Biden won, Donald Trump lost
By MARK SHERMAN WASHINGTON:The Electoral College decisively confirmed Joe Biden on Monday as the nation’s next president, ratifying his November victory in an authoritative state-by-state repudiation of President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede he had lost. The presidential electors gave Biden a solid majority of 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232, the same margin that […]
Presidential electors meeting to formally choose Joe Biden as next president
By MARK SHERMAN WASHINGTON:Presidential electors are meeting across the United States on Monday to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. Monday is the day set by law for the meeting of the Electoral College. In reality, electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots. The […]
Barack Obama reunion? Joe Biden fills Cabinet with former White House leaders
By AAMER MADHANI WASHINGTON:President-elect Joe Biden is getting the old gang back together. Increasingly deep into the process of selecting Cabinet members and other senior staff, the incoming Biden administration has a distinctly Obama feel. There’s Denis McDonough, former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff who Biden announced on Thursday would be nominated as the […]
Donald Trump virus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx seeks role in Joe Biden government
By AAMER MADHANI and ZEKE MILLER WASHINGTON: When Dr. Deborah Birx was brought into President Donald Trump’s orbit to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, she had a sterling reputation as a former U.S. Army physician, a globally recognized AIDS researcher and a rare Obama administration holdover. Less than 10 months later, as Trump’s time in […]
Despite Donald Trump’s venting and threats, Joe Biden’s win is sealed
By CALVIN WOODWARD WASHINGTON: There’s plenty of noise but no cause for confusion as President Donald Trump vents about how the election turned out and vows to subvert it even still. This truth is self-evident: Joe Biden is on track to become president Jan. 20. The machinery of government and democracy is moving inexorably toward […]
Joe Biden’s health team offers glimpse of his COVID-19 strategy
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR WASHINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden’s choices for his health care team point to a stronger federal role in the nation’s COVID-19 strategy, restoration of a guiding stress on science and an emphasis on equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments. With Monday’s announcement of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as his health secretary and […]
AP sources: Joe Biden picks Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense
By ROBERT BURNS, MICHAEL BALSAMO, JONATHAN LEMIRE and ZEKE MILLER WASHINGTON:President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense, according to four people familiar with the decision. If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would be the first Black leader of the Pentagon. Biden selected Austin over the […]
Joe Biden officially secures enough electors to become president
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD and NICHOLAS RICCARDI California certified its presidential election Friday and appointed 55 electors pledged to vote for Democrat Joe Biden, officially handing him the Electoral College majority needed to win the White House. Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s formal approval of Biden’s win in the state brought his tally of pledged […]
Joe Biden weighs Rahm Emanuel for transportation secretary
By AAMER MADHANI and ZEKE MILLER CHICAGO: President-elect Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a substantial and somewhat divisive figure in Democratic Party politics, to serve as his transportation secretary. Biden’s selection of his nominee to lead the Transportation Department is not believed to be imminent and Emanuel is among multiple candidates […]
Top secret: Joe Biden gets access to President’s Daily Brief
By DEB RIECHMANN and ZEKE MILLER WILMINGTON: Joe Biden has had his first look as president-elect at the President’s Daily Brief, a top secret summary of U.S. intelligence and world events — a document former first lady Michelle Obama has called “The Death, Destruction, and Horrible Things Book.” Biden has already had eyes on different […]