Michigan state legislature closes offices due to 'credible threats of violence'
Law enforcement recommended the Michigan legislature close its offices.
President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 39 days.
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Trump falsely claims he won election at event on vaccines
Trump this afternoon kicked off a self-congratulatory vaccine "summit" to tout the speed at which COVID-19 vaccines were produced -- speaking at the same time Biden was introducing his key health appointments and nominees.
The room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex was packed for the three-hour event, and it appeared almost everyone was wearing a mask, save for Trump.
Asked why no members of the Biden transition were invited to participate, the president falsely claimed he won the election and that he won key swing states where Biden actually was victorious.
“We’re gonna have to see who the next administration is because we won in those swing states -- and there was terrible things that went on. So we’re gonna have to see who the next administration is,” Trump said. “But whichever the next administration is will really benefit by what we’ve been able to do with this incredible science.”
“We were rewarded with a victory,” Trump continued. “Let's see whether or not somebody has the courage -- whether it's legislatures or a justice of the Supreme Court or a number of justice of the Supreme Court. Let's see if they have the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right.”
To date, Trump, his campaign and its allies have seen at least 38 defeats in court.
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Jordyn Phelps
Republicans won't acknowledge they are planning Biden's inauguration
Republicans and Democrats on the congressional committee planning next month's inauguration squabbled Tuesday morning over the election results, with Republicans voting against a measure from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer acknowledging Biden's victory.
"I made a motion that the committee notify the American people that it is preparing for the inauguration of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, and in consultation with them and health experts are doing so to protect the health of our people," Hoyer told reporters after the meeting. "That motion was defeated three to three."
All three Republicans on the panel -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Rules Committee Chairman Roy Blunt and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy -- voted against the measure, while Democrats on the panel -- Hoyer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. -- voted in favor.
Even as they refuse to acknowledge Biden's victory, Republicans called Hoyer's move a stunt that has no bearing on planning the inauguration: They are already working with Biden's inaugural committee, and the measure wasn't relevant to the day's meeting.
“It is not the job of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies to get ahead of the electoral process and decide who we are inaugurating. The JCCIC is facing the challenge of planning safe Inaugural Ceremonies during a global pandemic," Blunt said in a statement. "I would hope that, going forward, the members of the JCCIC would adhere to the committee’s long-standing tradition of bipartisan cooperation and focus on the task at hand.”
-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel
CDC director nominee says 'coding' nation called her to serve
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief on infectious diseases as Massachusetts General who was tapped as Biden's pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said her work on the HIV/AIDS pandemic brought her to this moment and said she is “honored” to serve an administration that will let science lead.
"I've dedicated my career ever since to researching and treating infectious diseases, and to ending the HIV/AIDS crisis for good. Now a new virus is ravaging us. It's striking hardest once again at the most vulnerable: the marginalized, the underserved," she said. "The pain is accelerating. Our defenses have worn down. We are losing life and hope at an alarming rate."
Walensky said she never anticipated taking on the role in government but compared the nation to a dying patient, said it's her calling as a doctor to respond.
"Every doctor knows that when a patient is coding, your plans don't matter. You answer the code. And when the nation is coding, if you are called to serve, serve. You run to take care of people, to stop the bleeding, to stabilize, to give them hope and a fighting chance to come back stronger," she said.
Fauci deems Biden's objectives on masking and vaccinations in 1st 100 days 'essential'
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, who will stay on Biden's COVID-19 equity task force and take on the elevated role of chief medical adviser, appeared virtually at Biden's rollout and expressed support for Biden's initiatives around masks and vaccinations in his first 100 days in office.
"I believe, as you do, that in the fight against this pandemic, we must lead with science and that a key piece of our ongoing work is communicating consistently with the American people," Fauci began.
"Whether it's maintaining social distancing and not congregating indoors, or the 100-day challenge you described on masking or to get as many people vaccinated as possible, these actions are bold, but they are doable and essential to help the public avoid unnecessary risks, to help us save lives, reopen schools and businesses and to eventually beat the pandemic," he continued.
Acknowledging he's dealt with many public health crises in his career, Fauci said the COVID-19 pandemic is "the toughest one we have ever faced as a nation," and repeated Biden's warnings that a dark winter is ahead.
"The road ahead will not be easy. We have got a lot of hard and demanding work to do in the next year, but as we have done during previous crises, I also know we can get through this pandemic together as a nation," Fauci added, thanking Biden for the opportunity to serve in this capacity.
Fauci explained he wasn't able to attend the event in-person because his colleague at the NIAID is receiving the Nobel Prize in medicine Tuesday.
Trump brings GOP along in dangerous final acts: Analysis
From the technical standpoint of a transition of power, the public opinion of congressional Republicans about whether Biden will take office Jan. 20 matters almost not at all.
From the broader standpoint of democracy and faith in elections, it could not hardly matter more at this moment.
The process that so many Republicans have been saying they want to play out is rather thoroughly exhausted already. The next seven days bring significant deadlines, with Tuesday's congressional "safe harbor" deadline for state election results and next Monday's Electoral College voting the most significant.
His tweets and the 101 minutes Trump spent airing grievances and falsehoods in Georgia Saturday night made clear he will pursue his dangerous fictions right through the end of his presidency. The good of the Republican Party -- and, of course, the good of the country -- are, at best, secondary considerations for the president at this point.
Some Republicans are trying to reframe questions about Biden's legitimacy as president-elect as though they are merely asking questions. Their suggestion is that democracy is threatened if people believe election irregularities have been ignored.
But far from being brushed aside, Trump's claims have been rejected in courthouses and state houses -- including by Republicans who have found themselves targeted by the president.
Ignoring that fact only sows more doubt in election integrity and legitimacy. And continuing to give Trump space to make wildly inaccurate and irresponsible claims will only solidify his hold on a party whose best interests have already begun to diverge from the president's.
-ABC News' Political Director Rick Klein