Pelosi elected to 4th term as House speaker

She’s the third speaker in the last 25 years to win with less than 218 votes.

Last Updated: January 4, 2021, 12:46 PM EST

President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 17 days.

Top headlines:

Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Dec 30, 2020, 11:28 AM EST

Sen. Hawley, R-Mo, says he will object during Electoral College certification process 

Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said Wednesday that he will object during the Electoral College certification process on Jan. 6. 

Sen. Josh Hawley asks questions during a Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to discuss election security and the 2020 election process on Dec. 16, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Greg Nash/Pool via AP

"Following both the 2004 and 2016 elections, Democrats in Congress objected during the certification of electoral votes in order to raise concerns about election integrity. They were praised by Democratic leadership and the media when they did. And they were entitled to do so. But now those of us concerned about the integrity of this election are entitled to do the same,” Hawley said in a statement.

Hawley alleged that Pennsylvania failed to follow state election laws, though he did not cite any specifics. He also accused big tech companies of interfering in the election, also without evidence.

-ABC News’ Mariam Khan

Dec 30, 2020, 11:05 AM EST

Biden announces nominees for deputy secretary of defense, under secretary of defense for policy

The president-elect announced Wednesday that he was nominating Kathleen Hicks as the deputy secretary of defense and Colin Kahl as the under secretary of defense for policy. 

“These respected, accomplished civilian leaders will help lead the Department of Defense with integrity and resolve, safeguard the lives and interests of the American people, and ensure that we fulfill our most sacred obligation: to equip and protect those who serve our country, and to care for them and their families both during and after their service,” Biden said in a statement. “Dr. Kath Hicks and Dr. Colin Kahl have the broad experience and crisis-tested judgment necessary to help tackle the litany of challenges we face today, and all those we may confront tomorrow.” 

Hicks currently leads the Biden-Harris Transition’s Defense Agency Review Team and is the senior vice president and director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. During the Obama-Biden Administration, she served as deputy under secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and forces and was confirmed by the Senate to serve as principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy.

Kahl is currently a co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation, a Steven C. Házy Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a professor of political science at Stanford University. 

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Dec 30, 2020, 9:50 AM EST

Biden, Harris to visit Georgia ahead of Senate runoffs

Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will travel to Georgia to campaign on behalf of Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock starting this weekend. 

Harris will be in Savannah on Sunday and Biden will visit Atlanta on Monday, the eve of the Tuesday runoff elections that will determine which party controls the Senate. 

This is Biden and Harris’ second trip to Georgia ahead of the runoff. Biden will also be in the Peach State at the same time as Trump, who will be holding a rally on the same day to support Republican candidates Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Dec 29, 2020, 11:22 PM EST

Trump headlines final night rally in Georgia Senate runoffs

Just 16 days before he's set to leave office, President Donald Trump will headline a rally for Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in Dalton, Georgia.

The rally comes on Jan. 4, the night before the two sitting senators face separate Democratic opponents -- Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, respectively -- in two runoffs that could determine control of the Senate. The makeup of the Senate is currently projected to be 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats and left-leaning independents. If Warnock and Ossoff win, pushing the balance to 50-50, the Democrats would control both the House and Senate, due to Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote in the upper chamber.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., speaks to the crowd during a Senate Firewall campaign rally at The Park at City Center on Dec. 29, 2020, in Woodstock, Ga.
Jessica Mcgowan/Getty Images

Dalton is in Georgia's 14th Congressional District, which makes up the northwest corner of the state and is perhaps the state's most conservative district. Its congresswoman-elect, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has supported QAnon conspiracies in the past and has fully embraced, defended and perpetuated Trump's false narrative about the election.

The 14th Congressional District is also doing the worst of the 14 districts in terms of turnout for the runoff, according to Georgia Votes, which is analyzing the secretary of state's data.

Trump made his one and only appearance in Georgia during the runoff campaign on Dec. 5, when he spent nearly two hours ticking off baseless conspiracies about the presidential election and went on a tangent about how he didn't want to come to appear at the rally.

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan

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