Biden is expected to nominate former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to reprise the role of secretary of agriculture, sources familiar with the transition told ABC News.

Vilsack was an early supporter of Biden’s candidacy, endorsing the former vice president ahead of the Iowa caucuses and often appearing on the campaign trail with Biden in the early months of the 2020 primary.

Vilsack served as the head of the Department on Agriculture for all eight years of the Obama administration, holding the position from 2009 to early 2017, before serving as president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Vilsack also previously served two terms as governor of the Hawkeye state.

Vilsack would be the second member of the Obama administration to reprise their role in a Biden White House, joining Biden’s nominee for Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, in returning to their former posts.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Molly Nagle

Biden will nominate Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sources familiar with the president-elect's decision told ABC News.

Fudge, who had campaigned openly to become the first Black secretary of agriculture, would be the second member of the Congressional Black Caucus to join the Biden administration, following Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., a key Biden surrogate who will serve as a senior White House official.

She would be Biden's third African-American cabinet nominee, after Linda Thomas-Greenfield, his pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, who he said Tuesday would be his nominee to lead the Pentagon.

The move would put Fudge at the helm of the $50 billion department as the country faces a potential housing crisis in the new year -- with many Americans struggling to pay rent, and others worried they will not be able to do so in the next few months as the economy continues to languish due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Approached by reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Fudge said she hadn't been formally offered the job by Biden, but said the two had spoken previously.

"If I were to be named, certainly it's an honor and a privilege to be asked to be in a president's Cabinet," she said. "If I can help this president in any way possible, I am more than happy to do it."

Fudge, a member of the House Agriculture Committee and Committee on Education and Labor, represents the Cleveland area, as well as Akron, Ohio.

When she was openly campaigning for the nomination to lead the department of agriculture, she lamented the possibility of leading HUD.

"As this country becomes more and more diverse, we're going to have to stop looking at only certain agencies as those that people like me fit in. You know, it's always 'we want to put the Black person in labor or HUD,'" she told Politico last month.

Fudge's move to the Biden administration would further tighten House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's fragile majority, making it even harder for Democrats to pass any legislation until Fudge's replacement is seated later next year.

"I'm in a safe district," Fudge told reporters. "We're just hopeful that if this works out the way we'd like it to, that it will be OK."

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel, Katherine Faulders, Beatrice Peterson and John Verhovek

In a single, succinct order, the U.S. Supreme Court has shut down an 11th-hour attempt by allies of Trump in Pennsylvania to block its slate of certified electors and toss out 2.5 million mail-in ballots.

"The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied," the court said.

The appeal -- brought by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, along with another GOP candidate for Congress -- alleged that the state legislature did not legally pass the law allowing for expanded mail-in voting during the pandemic. They sought the justices to order all mail-in ballots thrown out along with the state's official certification of election results, which was signed by Gov. Tom Wolf last week.

The Supreme Court's denial comes on the same day the state of Texas filed suit against four battleground states alleging that they "exploited the COVID-19 pandemic" to improperly loosen election rules and skew the contest's outcome. Justices have not yet said whether they will hear the case.

The actions come on the Dec. 8 "safe harbor" deadline by which states must lock in the slate of electors they intend to send to Congress to affirm the election results -- selections that are intended to match the will of the voters.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer, Alex Hosenball, Olivia Rubin and Matthew Mosk

Shortly before releasing his press release confirming retired four-star Gen. Lloyd Austin as his pick to lead the Pentagon, The Atlantic magazine published an op-ed penned by Biden op-ed, laying out the reasons behind his choice and noting their history together in the Obama administration.

“Today, I ask Lloyd Austin to once more take on a mission for the United States of America—this time as the secretary-designate of the Department of Defense. I know he will do an outstanding job,” Biden wrote.

Austin, the former commander of U.S. Central Command -- with jurisdiction over military activities in the Middle East -- retired in 2016 after more than 40 years of military service. If confirmed, he would be the first African American to lead the Pentagon.

Biden pointed to Austin’s ”many strengths and his intimate knowledge of the Department of Defense and our government” as factors that made him “the person we need in this moment," saying his experience leading the Iraq drawdown prepares him for coordinating vaccine distribution and connecting with American families.

“And the next secretary of defense will have to make sure that our armed forces reflect and promote the full diversity of our nation. Austin will bring to the job not only his personal experience, but the stories of the countless young people he has mentored. If confirmed, he will ensure that every member of the armed forces is treated with dignity and respect, including Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, women, and LGBTQ service members," Biden wrote.

Biden also seemed to address the fact that Lloyd’s nomination would require a waiver given his recent military service -- something that some Democrats have already expressed opposition to.

“I respect and believe in the importance of civilian control of our military and in the importance of a strong civil-military working relationship at DoD—as does Austin," he wrote.

"Austin also knows that the secretary of defense has a different set of responsibilities than a general officer and that the civil-military dynamic has been under great stress these past four years," Biden added.

The announcement comes as Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris meet with civil rights leaders who have pushed Biden to name more people of color to senior-level Cabinet positions.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Former Vice President Al Gore, 20 years ago today said, "Let there be no doubt. While I strongly disagree with the court's decision, I accept it."

Twenty years ago during the 2000 presidential election, the campaigns of George W. Bush and Al Gore fought in court for a chaotic 36 days over a ballot recount in Florida and certification of final results. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately intervened, reversing a state Supreme Court ruling, to end the counting and effectively deliver the presidency to Bush.

At the center of the controversy were irregularities in the way ballots were marked -- so-called "hanging" or "dangling" chads -- which famously required interpretation of voter intent.