Election Day 2024 live updates: Trump announces his chief of staff
Biden spoke from the White House Thursday.
By538 and ABC News
Last Updated: November 7, 2024, 5:56 PM EST
Just days after former President Donald Trump was projected to have won the presidency, President Joe Biden will address the nation Thursday morning.
Biden's speech comes a day after Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a somber speech Wednesday afternoon at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, D.C.
Trump's transition team operation has begun, with transition co-chairs confirming that he will be selecting personnel in the coming days to serve under his leadership.
Donald Trump announced he had selected his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, as his White House chief of staff, the president-elect said a statement Thursday.
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again," he added. "It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud."
McCarthy said he would decline to be Trump's chief of staff if offered
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he would decline if offered to be Trump's chief of staff during an interview earlier this week on Guy Benson's Fox News radio show.
McCarthy said he "wouldn't say yes" to the role, but suggested Susie Wiles, Trump's campaign manager, would be a "great" fit for the role.
12:14 PM EST
Biden urges unity following the election, commits to 'peaceful transfer of power'
President Joe Biden addressed the results of the 2024 election Thursday, saying "We're going to be okay," and urging people to come together even as they are divided in their feelings about the outcome.
"You know, the struggle for the soul of America since our very founding, has always been an ongoing debate, and still vital today," Biden said from the White House Rose Garden.
"I know for some people, it's a time for victory, to state the obvious. For others, it's a time of loss. Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made. I've said many times: you can't love your country only when you win," Biden said.
Biden said he hopes we can "lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system," saying it is "honest, it is fair and it is transparent and it can be trusted, win or lose."
He also directly pledged to a peaceful transition of power -- something former President Donald Trump did not do when Biden was coming into office four years ago.
Biden also spoke about his call with Vice President Kamala Harris.
"She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much: her character. She has a backbone like a ramrod," Biden said. "She has great character, true character. She gave her whole heart and effort, and she and her entire team should be campaign they ran."
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
11:33 AM EST
Harris projected winner in Maine
Vice President Kamala Harris is the projected winner in Maine, ABC News reports.
Harris won three of the state's electoral votes, with Trump winning one for Maine's 2nd Congressional District.