President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward with transition plans, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede the election one week after Biden was projected as the winner of the presidential race.
Trump has largely hunkered down inside the White House since the election, but on Saturday his motorcade drove drove past supporters gathered to rally in Washington, D.C., on his way to play golf.
Biden, meanwhile, is pressing forward, meeting with transition advisers in Delaware and calling Trump's refusal to concede "an embarrassment."
The Biden transition team and the Trump administration are in a standoff over whether Biden should be granted access to federal resources allocated for the transition of power. The General Services Administration, headed by a Trump appointee, has yet to officially recognize Biden as the victor in the election, preventing Biden's team from gaining full access to government funds and security information.
But a growing number of Republican senators are calling on the administration to start giving Biden classified intelligence briefings, a sign that support for Trump's refusal to concede the election may be waning among his allies on Capitol Hill.
Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Nov 12, 2020, 10:45 AM EST
2020 turnout is now the highest in modern history
Nine days after election day, turnout in the 2020 election has officially broken the modern-history record.
The total votes cast currently stand at 152,764,399, which is 63.9% of the voting-eligible population in 2020, slightly higher than the modern turnout record of 63.8% set in 1960, according to the U.S. Elections Project.
Biden: 77,635,157 (51%) Trump: 72,382,585 (47%)
With 96% of the expected vote in nationwide, Biden's lead over Trump has increased to more than 5.2 million votes.
Turnout is expected to continue to climb to reach as high as 158 million votes, experts predict. That could surpass records from a century ago -- hitting around 65.5% of the voting-eligible population -- but those elections excluded significant groups.
Republican canvas observer Ed White, center, and Democratic canvas observer Janne Kelhart, watch as Lehigh County workers count ballots as vote counting in the general election continues, Nov. 6, 2020, in Allentown, Pa.
Mary Altaffer/AP
-ABC News' Kendall Karson
Nov 12, 2020, 10:27 AM EST
White House press secretary deflects questions on Biden transition to the White House
Kayleigh McEnany, speaking as a “Trump campaign adviser” to Fox News Thursday morning, appeared to slip up with a departure from the president’s public messaging -- that he won the election -- by saying the Trump administration is following all laws “with regard to an expected transition” before seeming to catch herself.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany during a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters on Nov. 9, 2020, in Washington, DC. Trump campaign and Republican Party officials continued to push theories of voter intimidation, fraud, and illegal votes but were unable to provide proof at the time of the press conference.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Asked whether the president has considered giving Biden access to the President's Daily Briefs even as he continues to contest the election results, McEnany said it’s a question for the White House -- although McEnany serves as White House press secretary, the main spokesperson for the president.
“That would be a question more for the White House, but I will say that all laws are being followed with regard to an expected transition though we expect to continue on as the Trump administration, and we will see how our litigation goes," she said.
Her comments comes as the GSA has yet to officially recognize Biden as the victor in the election, preventing the Biden team from full access to government funds and information to aid in the process.
-ABC News' Jordyn Phelps
Nov 12, 2020, 10:11 AM EST
Overview: Trump behind closed doors as Biden moves forward
The standoff between the Biden transition team and the Trump administration continues as Trump still refuses to concede the loss and recognize Biden as the president-elect -- while the Trump campaign continues to issue largely empty legal threats in hopes of overturning the results.
Trump, who largely avoided the public since last week, has another day with no public events. He’s scheduled to have lunch with Vice President Mike Pence and meet later in the day with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin -- but all behind closed doors at the White House.
President Donald Trump turns away in the rain after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider as he attends a Veterans Day observance in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Nov. 11, 2020.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
Multiple sources told ABC News Trump met with senior advisers, including Jared Kushner, Jason Miller and campaign manager Bill Stepien, on Wednesday to discuss a post-election path forward.
Though he had golf outings over the weekend and on Wednesday participated in a Veterans Day event at a rainy Arlington National Cemetery, Trump has not spoken to reporters since falsely declaring victory for himself, again, one week ago.
Biden, pushing forward with the formation of his government despite cooperation by Trump or his administration, will continue meeting with transition advisers in Wilmington, Delaware, after naming his incoming chief of staff, Ron Klain, a longtime Washington operative, late Wednesday.
President-elect Joe Biden talks about protecting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as he speaks to reporters with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at this side about their "plan to expand affordable health care" during an appearance in Wilmington, Delaware, Nov. 10, 2020.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Nov 12, 2020, 10:11 AM EST
Slow-motion vote count is less than meets the eye
Nine days after voting ended, it's clear that the election could take a while to wind down. That's not because it was particularly close: Biden has cleared a 5-million-vote edge over Trump, in what's looking like a record-turnout election that remains on track to deliver him as many electoral votes -- 306 -- as Trump won in 2016.
But the manual recount of votes in Georgia announced Wednesday will be painstaking and is unlikely to finish until a week from Friday. As the GOP secretary of state has acknowledged, this is exceedingly unlikely to change the margins in Georgia -- and, of course, Trump needs even bigger turnabouts in states he lost more decisively, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, to have a plausible chance at a second term.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference on Nov. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. Georgia election officials have announced an audit of presidential election results that will trigger a full hand recount.
Brynn Anderson/AP
Does it matter? Not to Biden, who is running an orderly transition that stands in contrast with the chaos still coming from the White House. His choice of Ron Klain as chief of staff is another signal about normalcy -- and a tacit acknowledgement that Biden understands concerns raised on his left.
Vote counting, though, seems destined to drag beyond this month. That would mark a win, under the circumstances, for the Trump team -- with twin goals of seeing mistrust in the process and hoping for the equivalent of legal miracles.
It has become more clear in Washington and world capitals that Biden has won and will be the next president.
Trump is getting his wish, at least in one state, in slowing the process down. The institutions of governance, though, are holding through the delay -- at least until the next flurry comes from the president.
