President-elect Biden

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US to Get First Openly Gay Cabinet Secretary

Biden will nominate Pete Buttigieg to be transportation secretary

(Newser) - Another of Joe Biden's former primary foes is getting a key role in the new administration. The president-elect will nominate Pete Buttigieg to serve as transportation secretary, reports CNN . Assuming he's confirmed by the Senate, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, will be the first openly...

Let&#39;s Stop Letting Donors Buy Ambassadorships
It's Time to Fix the Way
We Pick Ambassadors
OPINION
Dec 15, 2020 12:51 PM CST

It's Time to Fix the Way We Pick Ambassadors

The age-old practice of rewarding big donors with posts must end, argues essayist

(Newser) - America has an ambassador problem, complains Mattathias Schwartz in an op-ed at the New York Times . He's referring to the long-standing practice of presidents awarding plum posts to big campaign donors who are utterly unqualified to be diplomats. As an example, Schwartz calls attention to former EU ambassador Gordon...

Mitch McConnell Calls It
Mitch McConnell Calls It
Dec 15, 2020 9:50 AM CST

Mitch McConnell Calls It

Senate majority leader acknowledges Biden as the winner for first time

(Newser) - Some holdouts remain—including President Trump—but top Republicans who have previously refused to recognize Joe Biden as president-elect are changing their tune. The most notable example came Tuesday morning when Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor to say, "The Electoral College has spoken . So today I want...

After Powerful Speech on His Vote, an Elector's Emotional Reveal

Jack Arends of Washington state on his failing health: 'I was glad to do my duty'

(Newser) - On Monday, Washington state's dozen electors all cast their votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president of the United States. One vote, however, proved a particularly emotional one. The Washington Post reports Jack Arends, a 64-year-old grassroots activist from Snohomish County, arrived...

Trump Backers See One Last Challenge in January
Trump Challenges May Lead
to Big Test for Pence
the rundown
Dec 14, 2020 11:34 AM CST

Trump Challenges May Lead to Big Test for Pence

When Congress meets to certify Electoral College count, things could get interesting

(Newser) - It's Electoral College day . Electors from all the states and DC have begun meeting in their state capitals to formally cast their ballots for Joe Biden or President Trump. While this is normally a ho-hum formality, the 2020 process is anything but because of Trump's refusal to acknowledge...

Biden Giving Big Role to a Familiar Face

President-elect will bring in Susan Rice to guide domestic policy

(Newser) - Joe Biden is bringing a familiar ally back to the White House. Politico reports that he has picked Susan Rice to guide domestic policy. More formally, she will run the White House Domestic Policy Council and thus have a big say in everything from health care to immigration to programs...

China's President to Biden: Here's What We Expect

Xi Jinping expresses hope for 'win-win cooperation'

(Newser) - Xi Jinping has called it. The Chinese president congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden Wednesday on his election victory and expressed hope for "win-win cooperation" amid conflicts over trade, technology, and security, reports the AP . There was no explanation for the delay—the AP declared Biden as the victor on...

Biden's Vote Count Is One for the Record Books

President-elect managed to cross the 80M mark

(Newser) - In 2008, Barack Obama won the presidency with a record-setting 69.5 million votes—a number he didn't manage to reach in 2012, nor one that Donald Trump hit in 2016. Joe Biden got there in 2020, and didn't just break that record—he quashed it. USA Today ...

Flournoy May Not Be a Shoo-In for Defense After All

Sources tell Politico that Biden is still mulling his options for defense secretary

(Newser) - President-elect Joe Biden is hard at work making picks for his administration, with reports already circulating on his choices for secretary of state, Homeland Security chief, and director of national intelligence, among others. But one key role tied to national security is still up in the air: secretary of defense,...

Kerry Pick Signals &#39;War Footing&#39; on Climate
Kerry Pick Signals
'War Footing' on Climate
the rundown
Nov 24, 2020 8:23 AM CST

Kerry Pick Signals 'War Footing' on Climate

For first time, a climate adviser will sit on the National Security Council

(Newser) - Joe Biden unveiled several picks for his administration Monday, including John Kerry as his special presidential envoy for climate. Kerry will not be the first presidential "climate czar," but he will be the first to sit on the National Security Council. That alone is seen as a signal...

Trump&#39;s Legal Fight Continues
Trump: We're Still Fighting
Nov 24, 2020 6:41 AM CST

Trump: We're Still Fighting

'Will never concede to fake ballots'

(Newser) - Even though the White House made a big concession to Joe Biden on Monday on his presidential transition, that doesn't mean President Trump is done trying to overturn the election results in court. Trump's legal team is again focusing on Pennsylvania, where it asked a federal appeals court...

GM Now Agrees With Biden's Plan, Not Trump's

Says it is pulling out of lawsuit involving California and clean-air standards

(Newser) - General Motors says it will no longer support the Trump administration in legal efforts to end California's right to set its own clean-air standards. CEO Mary Barra said in a letter Monday to environmental groups that GM will pull out of the lawsuit, and it urges other automakers to...

Biden Pick&#39;s Unusual Hobby: &#39;He&#39;s a Rocker&#39;
Biden Pick's
Unusual
Hobby:
'He's a Rocker'
the rundown
Nov 23, 2020 11:55 AM CST

Biden Pick's Unusual Hobby: 'He's a Rocker'

Antony Blinken set for state post, while John Kerry and some notable firsts also are on board

(Newser) - Joe Biden is fleshing out his White House. Word leaked Sunday night that he plans to nominate Antony Blinken as his secretary of state, while other big picks were unveiled on Monday. More on Blinken and the others, including John Kerry and some notable firsts:
  • Blinken's hobby: For a
...

It&#39;s Joe Biden&#39;s Birthday
It's Joe Biden's
Birthday
Nov 20, 2020 10:48 AM CST

It's Joe Biden's Birthday

He turns 78, on track to be oldest president in history

(Newser) - Joe Biden will meet with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer on Friday to continue laying out his plans for becoming president in January, reports Politico . (Even as President Trump digs in and promises to overturn the election results.) They might want to wish Biden happy birthday—he turns 78...

Biden Makes Picks for Big White House Roles

Campaign chief Jen O'Malley Dillon slated to be deputy chief of staff

(Newser) - Joe Biden announced a raft of top White House staff positions on Tuesday, drawing from the senior ranks of his campaign and some of his closest confidants to fill out an increasingly diverse White House leadership team, per the AP :
  • Campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon will serve as a
...

Biden Team Pushes a New Theme on COVID

Think 'dimmer switch,' not on-off switch, when it comes to restrictions

(Newser) - Last week, a member of Joe Biden's COVID advisory team caused a little controversy by talking about the idea of a national lockdown of six weeks. Now, however, it seems Biden's advisers are not only united in walking back that idea but in how to describe an alternative...

Biden, Trump Respond to Vaccine News

President wants the record to show it came under his watch

(Newser) - Both President Trump and Joe Biden were happy to hear good news about a second possible coronavirus vaccine Monday morning:
  • Trump: "Another Vaccine just announced," he tweeted . "This time by Moderna, 95% effective. For those great 'historians', please remember that these great discoveries, which will end
...

Frontrunner for Biden Defense Chief Would Make History

Michele Flournoy, who served at Pentagon under Obama, would be first woman in role

(Newser) - As President-elect Biden starts to make picks for his administration, one name being floated for a Cabinet position would be a historic one. The Hill reports that a frontrunner to head the Defense Department is Michele Flournoy, who served as the department's undersecretary of defense for policy under President...

A Week Later, Congrats From China to Biden

President-elect is still waiting on Russia, North Korea, and Brazil

(Newser) - President Trump still hasn't conceded to President-elect Joe Biden, but most of the world has accepted Biden will be the new US president—and now China, one of the last nations to do so, has joined in. "We respect the choice of the American people," Foreign Ministry...

GOP Senator Says He'll Go to Bat for Biden on Intel Briefs

James Lankford of Okla.: I'll 'step in' if president-elect isn't given access by Friday

(Newser) - President Trump still hasn't conceded to Joe Biden, and the president-elect still hasn't been given access to transition funding and intelligence briefings. In pushing to get those resources, it looks like Biden will have a new ally come Friday: GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma says he'll...

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