Trump-Biden transition latest: Trump signs coronavirus relief bill amid pressure

The morning after President Trump said he is not ready to sign the COVID-19 relief bill passed by both the House and the Senate, the Department of Labor said another 803,000 workers lost their job and filed for unemployment insurance last week. 

Trump revealed his position on the bill on Twitter in a move giving both Democrats and Republicans a headache after he had been expected to sign the bipartisan deal this week. 

The president is asking that the bill be reworked in order to give every American a $2,000 stimulus check instead of the $600 that was negotiated. Democrats had called for more money in the stimulus checks, but Republicans pushed back on the higher amount.

The bill was crafted by Senate Republicans, led by Trump ally Mitch McConnell, in tandem with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, one of Trump's closest Cabinet members.

In the wake of Trump’s announcement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tweeted that, “Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!” Fellow Democrats echoed her sentiment. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, however, pushed for Trump to sign the bill as is, tweeting: "We spent months trying to secure $2000 checks but Republicans blocked it. Trump needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open and we're glad to pass more aid Americans need."

It’s unclear what comes next for Congressional Republican leaders. Mnuchin had already promised the $600 direct payments would be going out next week. 

Biden has not publicly responded yet. On Tuesday, however, he welcomed the news of the bill passing, telling Americans on Twitter that while the work is far from over, “help is on the way.”

President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on Wednesday announced additional members he's naming to the White House counsel's office, a slate of four deputies who will all work under previously announced incoming White House counsel Dana Remus.

Biden and Harris announced Jonathan Cedarbaum as deputy counsel to the president and national security council legal advisor, Danielle Conley as deputy counsel to the president, Stuart Delery as deputy counsel to the president and Jonathan Su as deputy counsel to the president. 

"The charge facing our administration is as big as it is essential: restoring faith in American government,” Biden said in a statement. “We are assembling an accomplished and experienced legal team to ensure this administration operates ethically, transparently and always in service of the American people.” 

-ABC News’ John Verhovek.

The suit marks the start of what could be an onslaught of litigation against the president and his allies, who mounted challenges to the election based on false allegations of fraud and fierce conspiracy theories. Some conservative outlets in recent days have begun airing retractions as the threat of litigation looms.

Eric Coomer, the Director of Product Strategy and Security for Dominion, says he has faced death threats and harassment as a result of the "baseless and unequivocally false" conspiracy theory about him, which claimed he had admitted to rigging Dominion machines against Trump on an "Antifa conference call." 

"Without concern for the truth or the consequences of their reckless conduct, Defendants branded Dr. Coomer a traitor to the United States, a terrorist, and a criminal of the highest order," Coomer wrote in his complaint. "While this theory has been thoroughly rejected, its immediate and life-threatening effects remain very real."

The suit, filed in state court in Colorado, is separate from the heavy legal challenge Dominion as a company is expected to mount on its own against Sidney Powell.

In his complaint, Coomer says the threats have escalated to the point where he had to leave his home and "sever ties" with friends and family to stay in seclusion after the theory-- part of a broader conspiracy theory that the Dominion voting machine company rigged the election for Biden-- went viral on social media.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin

President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Department of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, met virtually with Black farm organizations and activists on Tuesday, the transition announced.

The meeting comes after his nomination was criticized by many hoping for a more diverse pick and those that hoped Rep. Marcia Fudge, who is now Biden's nominee to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, would be tapped for the role.

Per the transition, the meeting centered on "ensuring fairness and equity for Black farmers as they recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic, providing necessary resources to tackle the ongoing systemic issues they face and expanding access to nutrition for communities across the country." It also touched on the need to address the discrimination Black farmers have faced at the hands of the USDA.

Among the participants in the meeting was Shirley Sherrod, the former head of USDA rural development in Georgia, who was forced out of her job when Vilsack led the department during the Obama administration over a deceptively edited video pushed by right-wing news sites.

Both Vilsack and the White House later apologized for pushing Sherrod out of her job.

-ABC News' John Verhovek