LATEST: Georgia secretary of state hits back at senators

President-elect Joe Biden, joined by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, speaks at The Queen theater, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.
President-elect Joe Biden, joined by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, speaks at The Queen theater, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.

WASHINGTON — The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden:

4:10 p.m.

Georgia’s secretary of state is firing back at the state’s two U.S. senators for calling on him to resign over the handling of the election, which has President-elect Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump in the state.

Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue took the extraordinary step Monday of calling for Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to step down.

Raffensperger responded, “Let me start by saying that is not going to happen. The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire me.”

He says while he understands their frustration with the outcome of the election — which also saw Loeffler and Perdue forced into runoffs — the way the election was handled was a success.

Raffensperger says, "As a Republican, I am concerned about Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate. I recommend that Senators Loeffler and Perdue start focusing on that.”

The Associated Press hasn't yet called a winner in Georgia's presidential election. The state hasn't gone to a Democratic presidential candidate since 1992.


3:30 p.m.

Some Republicans are renewing their attacks on President-elect Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia, with Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler taking the extraordinary step of calling for the resignation of the Republican secretary of state.

Republicans laid out a strategy to investigate but still presented no evidence of large-scale voter fraud in the balloting, saying Monday that they were still looking into ways to overturn Biden’s lead of more than 10,000 votes in Georgia.

Georgia is one front in a nationwide scramble by Trump forces to question his national defeat. The Associated Press has not yet called the race for Georgia’s 16 electoral votes.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office is defending the conduct of the elections, saying that while there may be scattered illegal votes, officials are very confident in the overall outcome.

Loeffler and Perdue, who face a pair of Jan. 5 runoffs against Democrats that will determine control of the Senate, blamed Raffensperger for “mismanagement and lack of transparency.”


1:20 p.m.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is congratulating President-elect Joe Biden on an “apparent victory” but adding that President Donald Trump should be afforded the chance to challenge the results.

Collins won reelection last week over Democrat Sara Gideon. She asked voters who have questions about the results of the presidential election to be patient.

“First, I would offer my congratulations to President-elect Biden on his apparent victory – he loves this country, and I wish him every success,” Collins said in a statement. “Presidential transitions are important, and the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect should be given every opportunity to ensure that they are ready to govern on January 20th.”

Collins added that Trump’s desire to challenge the results should be handled in accordance with existing laws. Trump has so far refused to concede to Biden.

She says, “I understand that the president and others have questions about the results in certain states. There is a process in place to challenge those results and, consistent with that process, the president should be afforded the opportunity to do so.”

12:55 p.m.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says it would like to see a major infrastructure bill as the first order of business for a Biden-Harris administration and a new Congress in 2021.

The powerful business lobby group had teamed up with the AFL-CIO and other groups during Donald Trump’s presidency to push for significant new investments in roads, bridges and broadband but could not get legislation over the finish line. How to pay for such investment remains a huge stumbling block.

Neil Bradley, an executive vice president at the business group, says the chamber will continue to push the Trump administration and Congress to get an economic relief bill passed before the end of the year to help businesses survive during the coronavirus pandemic.

He says the economic recovery is “uneven across industries and across communities, and we have to focus on those who will be the last to recover from this pandemic induced recession.”

12:50 p.m.

The highest-ranking Black member of Congress is urging President Donald Trump to stop challenging the results of the 2020 general election and begin finding ways to work with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Clyburn said Monday during a media availability that Trump appears to be “hell-bent on destroying the fabric that’s been holding” the country together by alleging unsubstantiated fraud in the vote counting.

Applauding the Biden transition team’s work in setting up a coronavirus task force, Clyburn said he has “absolutely no interest” in a post of his own in the administration. But he did suggest that Jaime Harrison, who recently lost to Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, might be a good pick.

Harrison told The Associated Press on Monday that he would be willing to serve. He says, “If the president-elect asks you to serve, then you serve." He says he would leave it up to the Biden team to determine what post would be a good fit.

12:45 p.m.

The White House is instructing federal agencies to fire political appointees of President Donald Trump who are looking for job opportunities after Trump’s election defeat to President-elect Joe Biden.

A senior administration official says presidential personnel director John McEntee, the president’s former personal aide, told White House liaisons at departments that they should terminate any political appointees seeking new work while Trump has refused to accept the electoral results.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Trump’s term ends at noon on Jan. 20. Several thousand political appointees across the government will see their jobs end by that date.

Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election on Saturday.

12:35 p.m.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris while reaffirming the U.S.-U.N. partnership as “an essential pillar of the international cooperation needed to address the dramatic challenges facing the world today.”

The message, delivered Monday by U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, also congratulated the American people “for a vibrant exercise of democracy in their country’s elections last week.”

Dujarric said in response to a question on Harris’ historic victory as the first woman to be elected vice president that the secretary-general is always pleased and welcomes a woman getting “to break a new ceiling.”

General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir tweeted his warmest congratulations to Biden, citing his “long history” of supporting the United Nations, and to Harris for her historic election, which he called “a milestone for gender equality.”

12 p.m.

President Donald Trump has fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, a stunning move on the heels of Trump’s failed reelection bid.

Presidents who win reelection often replace Cabinet members, including the secretary of defense, but losing presidents have kept their Pentagon chiefs in place until Inauguration Day to preserve stability in the name of national security.

Trump announced the news in a tweet, saying that “effective immediately” Christopher Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will serve as acting secretary, sidestepping the department’s No. 2-ranking official, Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist.

“Chris will do a GREAT job!” Trump tweeted. “Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.”

11:50 a.m.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson has tested positive for the coronavirus. Carson is the first member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet known to have tested positive.

The department’s deputy chief of staff, Coalter Baker, said Monday that Carson is “in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery.”

The 69-year-old Carson is among several top Trump administration officials who attended last week’s election night party at the White House. Carson has been a steadfast surrogate for the Republican president, traveling to many of the swing states before Election Day to discuss the administration’s priorities and achievements. Carson attended several events Trump held to appeal to African American voters.

Before joining the Trump administration, Carson had sought the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2016. He served for nearly 30 years as director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

11:15 a.m.

President-elect Joe Biden is imploring Americans to “wear a mask” to help fight the spread of the coronavirus — “no matter who you voted for.”

He says, “We are Americans, and our country is under threat.”

The Democrat said Monday wearing masks could slow the death toll in the COVID-19 pandemic, which he noted could climb by 200,000 before a vaccine is widely available.

Biden said, “Please, I implore you, wear a mask.” He noted masks could save the lives of older people, children and teachers and added: “It could even save your own life.”

Biden notes that he doesn’t take office until Jan. 20 but is assuming a public leadership role in the fight against the pandemic ahead of being sworn in.

11:05 a.m.

President-elect Joe Biden is warning the United States is “still facing a very dark winter” as he unveils plans for addressing covid-19 pandemic.

Even as hopes of a vaccine lifted stocks, Biden said Monday another 200,000 lives could be lost before it is widely available. Biden implores Americans to “wear a mask.”

Biden says he would be guided by science in laying out the framework of a pandemic response, starting with members of a task force to prepare for his administration’s transition to overseeing it.

10:20 a.m.

One week after Election Day, Vice President Mike Pence appears ready to take some time off.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Pence is scheduled to travel to Sanibel, Florida, Tuesday through Saturday. Pence has vacationed on the island along Florida’s Gulf Coast several times previously. Pence’s office didn’t immediately comment on the trip on Monday.

The trip comes as President Donald Trump has pledged to continue trying to contest the outcome of the election and as President-elect Joe Biden is ramping up his transition efforts.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are being briefed virtually on the coronavirus pandemic by a task force of experts their transition team announced Monday.

EARLIER:

WILMINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden on Monday cheered news about the promising development of a coronavirus vaccine but cautioned Americans need to be aggressive about mask wearing and social distancing as infections continue to surge around the country.

The Democrat's transition team also unveiled members of Biden's coronavirus working group tasked with developing his administration's pandemic response — something Biden says he wants to put in motion as soon as he takes office in January.

As Biden unveiled his coronavirus advisory board — led by former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Yale University public health care expert Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith — Pfizer announced promising results from a vaccine trial.

The company, which developed the vaccine with the German drugmaker BioNTech, said it is on track to file an emergency use application with U.S. regulators later this month.

"Even if that is achieved, and some Americans are vaccinated later this year, it will be many more months before there is widespread vaccination in this country," Biden said in a statement, noting that the vaccine does not change the "urgent reality" that Americans will have to rely on masking, distancing, and other mitigation in the months ahead.

Biden is set to take the reins as the pandemic climbs to a new apex. Over the past two weeks, the number of confirmed covid-19 cases has risen nearly 65%: the 7-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. went from 66,294 on Oct. 25 to 108,736.7 on Nov. 8.

In the past week, 1 out of every 433 Americans were diagnosed with covid-19. Hospitals in several states are running out of space and staff, and the death toll is soaring. So far, the U.S. has recorded more than 9.8 million infections and more than 237,000 deaths from covid-19.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received a briefing from the newly-formed advisory board on Monday morning and Biden plans to deliver an address on the pandemic after the meeting.

While Biden greeted the news with cautious optimism, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to herald the moment with all caps exuberance: "STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!"

An interim analysis of the Pfizer vaccine, from an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the U.S. and five other countries.

Pfizer says an early peek at its vaccine data suggests the shots may be 90% effective at preventing covid-19, indicating the company is on track later this month to file an emergency use application with U.S. regulators.

Trump throughout his campaign said that the nation — even as the infection rate has surged to record highs — was rounding the corner on the coronavirus and that a vaccine was imminent. Vice President Mike Pence was set to hold a meeting of the White House coronavirus task force on Monday. Pence in a tweet called Pfizer's reported progress "HUGE NEWS."

The White House task force, which includes the federal government's leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, has been diminished in recent months as Trump grew impatient that efforts to slow the virus was having deleterious impact on the economy.

After declaring victory Saturday, Biden quickly pivoted from a bitter campaign battle to reining in the pandemic that has hit the world's most powerful nation harder than any other.

Biden announced the members of his advisory board will develop a blueprint for fighting the pandemic. It includes doctors and scientists who have served in previous administrations, many of them experts in public health, vaccines and infectious diseases.

Notable among the members is Rick Bright, a vaccine expert and former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. He had filed a whistleblower complaint alleging he was reassigned to a lesser job because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug pushed by Trump as a covid-19 treatment.

Other members include Dr. Luciana Borio, who had senior leadership positions at the FDA and National Security Council during the Obama and Trump administrations; Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who served as a special adviser for health policy in the Obama administration; Dr. Atul Gawande, a senior adviser in the Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton administration and medical writer; and Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist who served as an adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson during the George W. Bush administration.

Public health officials warn that the nation is entering the worst stretch yet for covid-19 as winter sets in and the holiday season approaches, increasing the risk of rapid transmission as Americans travel, shop and celebrate with loved ones.

"The next two months are going to be rough, difficult ones," said Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist and department chairman at the Yale School of Public Health. "We could see another 100,000 deaths by January."

Biden pledged during the campaign to make testing free and widely available; to hire thousands of health workers to help implement contact-tracing programs; and to instruct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide clear, expert-informed guidelines, among other proposals.

He also made Trump's mishandling of the pandemic a central focus of his campaign. But much of what Biden has proposed will take congressional action, and he's certain to face challenges in a closely divided House and Senate.

Establishing some consensus with state leaders on a national response, including a nationwide mask mandate, should be a top priority, she said. Opposition to wearing masks remains a stubborn issue, particularly in some of the hardest-hit states.

"Each state is acting fairly autonomously on their own policies, and we've seen how that's played out," said Ko, the Yale expert. "This disease needs national and global responses."

During his first remarks as president-elect, Biden said Saturday that his covid-19 task force will create a plan "built on bedrock science" and "constructed out of compassion, empathy and concern."

There's also hope in the wider medical community that a Biden presidency will help restore U.S. leadership on global public health challenges, including the development and distribution of a vaccine when it becomes available.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist of the World Health Organization, said she was more optimistic that a Biden administration would join Covax, a WHO-led project aimed to help deploy vaccines to the neediest people worldwide, whether they live in rich or poor countries.

"Everyone recognizes that for a pandemic, you cannot have a country-by-country approach. You need a global approach," Swaminathan said.

But in Kansas, one of the states seeing a significant surge in virus cases in recent weeks, at least one hospital official remains skeptical about what a new president can do to turn the tide of the pandemic in the U.S.

"I think the damage is done," said Kris Mathews, the administrator of Decatur Health, a small hospital in the rural northwest part of the state. "People have made up their minds about how they react to it."

This story was originally published at 10:38 a.m.

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