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Most Americans have chosen Democrat Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. Still, the incumbent Donald Trump is trying to do everything he can to nullify Biden’s victory on the legal path. All news and updates at a glance:
Monday, November 19, 10:03 pm: According to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory is based solely on “preliminary results.” Therefore, the acting president, Donald Trump, could continue to take legal action against him. Given the fraud allegations and a possible recount in two states, Trump doesn’t have to rush to accept the reported results, says the influential Republican.
“President Trump has one hundred percent the right to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and examine his legal options,” McConnell said in the Senate.
McConnell points to the fact that the states have yet to present the final results and that Biden has only been declared the winner of the election based on the predictions of major American media outlets. This is very common in the US, because the presentation of the final results usually takes weeks.
Monday, November 19, 7:05 pm: Still President Donald Trump lives up to his reputation once again. He announced on Twitter that Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper would be replaced. His successor will be Christopher C. Miller, formerly director of the National Counterterrorism Center. An explanation for the decision is not yet available. Last week, NBC reported that Esper had already prepared his resignation letter. He expected to be ousted from the cabinet after the election, after military veteran and former defense industry lobbyist Esper became secretary of defense in July 2019, replacing James Mattis.
Esper and Trump’s relationship hasn’t been the best in a long time. They had different opinions on renaming the military bases, some of which still bear the name of generals in the Confederate Army. Esper was also unhappy with Trump’s visit to a church in Washington, where the president had himself photographed with a Bible. The police had dispersed the protesters with tear gas.
According to senior government officials, the White House has told federal agencies to fire Trump appointees who are now looking for work after Trump was removed. Trump’s term ends on January 20 at noon local time. Then several thousand government employees lose their jobs.
China and Russia continue to hold back with congratulations
Monday, November 9, 1:47 pm: Many heads of state and government have already congratulated Joe Biden on his electoral victory. China is holding back with congratulations on Joe Biden’s election victory. Possibly because Beijing will have to do with Donald Trump in the time before he takes office and does not want to strain the already difficult relationship, according to CNN.
At a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that his country had taken note of Biden’s victory declaration and would offer its own congratulations in accordance with international practice. He did not say what that practice would be. Four years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated the winner of the election, Donald Trump, on November 9, long before he took office.
There has yet to be an official reaction from Russia, except for the hint that it will only be commented on when an official final result is available. So says the spokesman for the President’s Office, Dmitrij Peskow. Biden’s election victory was not proclaimed by an election authority, but is based on consistent assessments by the relevant American media from various political fields. President Vladimir Putin has stated several times that he is willing to work with any head of state in the United States, Peskov says. Russia awaits a dialogue and a normalization of relations.
Biden sets standards with the occupation of his Corona team
Monday, November 9, 1:24 pm: The team of the future president of the United States has announced on its website the composition of the 13-person expert commission, which will develop a strategy to combat the corona pandemic before Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021.
One of the specialists is the immunologist Rick Bright. By his own account, this year he had been removed from a senior position in a health authority (Barda) because he had opposed the White House line on the crown pandemic. Politician however, there have been internal complaints about the vaccine investigator’s management style before.
In any event, following his demotion, Bright submitted a complaint to a whistleblower protection authority, in which he spread more than 60 pages of omissions and misconduct by the Trump administration in the crown crisis. The fact that the fired head of authority is now being heard again clearly shows what course the Biden government wants to take in the pandemic.
As previously known, the advisory group will be headed by Vivek Murthy, the top US health official. Under former President Barack Obama, David Kessler, former director of the Food and Drug Administration, and Marcella Nunez-Smith, a senior expert from Yale University of Medicine and Epidemiology. Biden and future Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the advisory team for an initial briefing this afternoon.
For past developments since Election Day, visit our Archived Live Blog on the American Elections.
