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Trump-Biden transition updates: At least 20 arrested, 1 stabbed at DC protests

The event was largely peaceful, but grew violent after crowds thinned at night.

ByLibby Cathey, Meredith Deliso, and Kate Pastor
Last Updated: November 16, 2020, 2:06 PM EST

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.

Top headlines:

Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Nov 13, 2020, 2:17 PM EST

Pro-Trump groups and counterdemonstrators gather outside White House

Ahead of expected protests from far-right groups and counter-protesters in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, both groups gathered outside the White House Friday, as Trump supporters, taking queues from the president, refuse to recognize Biden as the winner of the presidential election.

As the crowd outside the White House grew, Trump tweeted it was “heartwarming” to see “organic Rallies” in his support. He also teased an appearance at the demonstrations in D.C. on Saturday, saying he “may even try to stop by and say hello.”

A counter-demonstrator and supporter of President Donald Trump, wearing a campaign hat, speaks through a megaphone during an anti-Trump rally in the aftermath of the presidential election, at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, Nov. 13, 2020.
Hannah Mckay/Reuters

Behind the scenes, multiple sources tell ABC News the Trump campaign has been privately reaching out to top surrogates to help promote planned events to ensure a big turnout for the president.

The Trump campaign held a private call with top surrogates days ago and told them to be ready "at a moment's notice."

"We may need your help and support on the ground, you know, waving the flag and yelling the president's name and support,” according to audio obtained by ABC News.

A counter-demonstrator and supporter of President Donald Trump wears a costume during an anti-Trump rally in the aftermath of the presidential election at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, Nov. 13, 2020.
Hannah Mckay/Reuters
Supporters of President Donald Trump talk with counter-protestors during a rally, Nov. 13, 2020, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Protesters on both sides donned costumes and displayed signs Friday afternoon.

-ABC News' Will Steakin

Nov 13, 2020, 1:48 PM EST

Biden team says it's not looking to engage in a 'food fight' with Trump admin

Jen Psaki, an adviser to the Biden Harris transition, said on a call with reporters Friday afternoon the Biden team is not looking to engage in legal battles with the GSA -- as it slow-walks Biden’s ascertainment as president-elect -- but that it is “concerning” not to have access to vital transition information in the midst of a pandemic. 

Jen Psaki is seen at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, 2015.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP, FILE

“We're not interested in having a food fight with the GSA administrator or anyone really,” Psaki said. “We just want to get access to intelligence information, to threat assessments, to the ongoing work on COVID, so that we can prepare to govern, bring the American people together and get the pandemic under control.”

She noted that sentiment is "starting to ring" with the GOP, as a growing list of Senate Republicans have called on the Trump administration to begin giving Biden classified briefings. 

Psaki also said not to expect any personnel announcements from Biden this weekend and that the president-elect will be taking a couple days off with family in Delaware.

Nov 13, 2020, 1:26 PM EST

Trump expected to break silence with afternoon Rose Garden remarks

Trump will provide an update on Operation Warp Speed at 4 p.m. in the Rose Garden, according to his updated public schedule from the White House.

It's been eight days since Trump spoke to White House reporters -- the longest stretch of his presidency -- and 10 days since he took questions.

Nov 13, 2020, 1:03 PM EST

Trump receives update on Operation Warp Speed

A U.S. Marine stood outside the West Wing Portico Friday afternoon indicating Trump was in the Oval Office. His schedule showed him receiving a status update on Operation Warp Speed, the federal government's coronavirus vaccine program.

Trump's update was the president’s first publicly announced event related to the pandemic all week. It comes as the virus is raging, with the country breaking records of new cases and hospitalizations, and after months of Trump not attending a meeting of the coronavirus task force.

-ABC News' Jordyn Phelps and Ben Gittleson

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