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President-elect Joe Biden will appoint a coronavirus task force on Monday after his victory in the US presidential election.
Although Biden will not assume the presidency until January 20, a transition team has been established that will intensify activity in the coming weeks, although a decision on cabinet members is not expected until after Thanksgiving at the end of January. November.
However, in a sign of the priority the president-elect is giving to addressing the Covid-19 pandemic, he will unveil a new working group on Monday. It will be co-chaired by former Obama Administration Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler.
It comes as more than 126,000 new cases of Covid-19 were announced in the United States, the highest daily record so far.
Election count
Meanwhile, the count continued in a handful of states over the weekend, as some races had yet to be called. Although Nevada was called up for Mr. Biden on Saturday, having won Pennsylvania with its 20 electoral college votes, a final result was still expected in Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina on Sunday night, although the latter is expected. be summoned for Donald Trump. .
In Arizona, Trump narrowed the gap with Biden to 18,500 votes Sunday and more ballots are expected to be declared in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
But Biden increased his lead in Georgia, which is awaiting votes from military and foreign voters, as well as provisional ballots. Nonetheless, a recount will be conducted in the state, the secretary of state said, given the extremely tight margin on the result.
Trump, who played golf in Virginia on Saturday and Sunday, has yet to concede the race and has launched a series of legal challenges in different states as he seeks victory. While some reports on Sunday suggested his wife Melania was encouraging him to compromise, the first lady appeared to back her husband’s suggestion that “illegal” votes were behind Biden’s victory.
“The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal vote, not illegal, must be counted, ”he tweeted. “We must protect our democracy with full transparency.”
Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn urged members of Trump’s party to “step forward and help us preserve the integrity of this democracy.”
The Trump campaign continued to send emails to its supporters Sunday encouraging them to donate money for Trump’s various legal efforts.
US President Donald J. Trump leaves the White House. Photograph: Mike Theiler / EPA / Pool
Former President George W Bush, who won a disputed election against Democrat Al Gore in 2000, said in a statement that voters “have spoken,” although he said Trump had the right to recount in closed states.
He said he had spoken to Mr. Biden and congratulated him. “I offered him the same thing that I offered Presidents Trump and Obama: my prayers for his success and my promise to help in any way,” he said.
Planning the transition
Biden’s transition team is led by Ted Kaufman, who replaced Biden in the Senate in 2009 when he became vice president and subsequently became one of the closest advisers. He also assisted in the writing of a new law on the transition process that was passed during the Obama presidency.
Transition planning is a legal requirement in the United States, and funding and access to federal agencies are available to winning presidential candidates.
Given his long history in Washington, Biden has a large group of informal advisers and allies who have been working closely with the former vice president during his presidential campaign, some of whom are likely competing for positions in the new administration.
Biden has indicated that he wants to appoint a diverse cabinet, representative of the people of the United States.
Among those who could be in line for secretary of state are Anthony Blinken, Jake Sullivan and Nicholas Burns. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice could also be in the frame, though she may find it difficult to pass a Senate confirmation process, given that Republicans are likely to have a majority in the House as of from January.
Left politics
Senator Elizabeth Warren has made it known that she is interested in a position. There were rumors that she could be appointed Secretary of the Treasury, a move that would indicate Biden’s acceptance of a more left-wing policy.
Former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is said to be up for a job, as well as New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy or even Vermont Bernie Sanders.
Irish-American Congressman Brendan Boyle, one of the president-elect’s early supporters, was also mentioned in the American media as possibly in the vein of a role in the administration.
While multiple current members of Congress may be under consideration, Biden will consider the electoral implications of any appointment, as well as his likelihood of passing a Republican-led Senate confirmation hearing. Similarly, acting members will be wary of accepting a position that may be younger than their current roles.
Other figures like Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms or potentially former Secretary of State John Kerry could be in line for the jobs. Both were the first supporters of Biden’s candidacy.
In keeping with his promise to heal America’s political divisions, Biden may also appoint a few Republican figures to his administration.
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