Giuliani says he won’t be on Trump impeachment defense team
Trump was impeached by the House for a second time last week.
President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in three days.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump last Wednesday on an article for "incitement of insurrection" for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol -- making him the only president to be impeached twice.
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Biden announces 5-point vaccination plan
Biden outlined a five-point vaccination plan Friday to ramp up rollout when he takes office.
On day one, he said he plans to instruct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to start opening the first of thousands of federally supported community vaccination centers across the nation. By the end of his first month in office, 100 of these centers will be open, Biden said, at places that are "convenient and accessible," such as school gymnasiums, community centers and sports stadiums.
"As we build them, we're going to make sure it's done equitably," Biden said. "We're going to make sure there are vaccination sites in areas hit harder by the pandemic, in Black and Hispanic communities as well."
Within the first month, his administration also plans to promote mobile vaccination clinics "to hard-hit and hard-to-reach communities in cities, small towns and in rural communities," he said.
Thirdly, the administration plans to "fully activate the pharmacies across the country to get the vaccination into more arms as quickly as possible," Biden said. This will include working with both independent and chain pharmacies to help people more easily make appointments, he said.
The fourth point of the plan involves ramping up vaccine supply through the Defense Production Act, Biden said.
"We'll use the Defense Protection Act to work with private industry to accelerate the making of materials needed to supply and administer the vaccine, from tubes and syringes to protective equipment," Biden said.
Lastly, Biden promised transparency on vaccine supply.
"We're going to make sure state and local officials know how much supply they'll be getting and when they can expect to get it so they can plan," he said. "Right now, we're hearing that they can't plan, because they don't know how much supply of vaccines they can expect at what time frame."
Biden stressed that his administration is not changing the Food and Drug Administration's recommended dosing schedules.
"We believe it's critical that everyone should get two doses within the FDA-recommended time frame. So we're not doing away with that availability," he said.
Top White House science team members announced
Ahead of planned remarks Friday afternoon on his vaccination program, Biden released the names of top members of his White House science team.
Dr. Francis Collins will continue in his role as director of the National Institutes of Health, Biden announced.
Biden also wrote a letter to Dr. Eric Lander, the presidential science advisor-designate and nominee for director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), tasking him to "work broadly and transparently with the diverse scientific leadership of American society."
Here are all the positions announced Friday by the Biden team:
-Dr. Eric Lander will be nominated as director of the OSTP and serve as the presidential science advisor.
-Dr. Alondra Nelson will serve as OSTP deputy director for science and society.
-Dr. Frances H. Arnold and Dr. Maria Zuber will serve as the external co-chairs of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
-Dr. Francis Collins will continue serving in his role as director of the National Institutes of Health.
-Kei Koizumi will serve as OSTP chief of staff and is one of the nation’s leading experts on the federal science budget.
-Narda Jones will serve as OSTP legislative affairs director.
-ABC News' John Verhovek
Buttigieg's nomination hearing expected next week
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is expected to hold Pete Buttigieg's nomination hearing for transportation secretary on Thursday at 10 a.m.
This is the sixth Cabinet-level nomination hearing to be noticed. Others expected for next week: Avril Haines to serve as director of national intelligence, Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary, Tony Blinken to serve as secretary of state, Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of defense, and Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as Department of Homeland Security secretary.
Avril Haines nomination hearing scheduled for Tuesday
The nomination hearing for Avril Haines, Biden’s pick for director of national intelligence, is now scheduled for Tuesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee announced. The hearing is slated to start at 10 a.m. ET.
It was originally scheduled for Friday but was then postponed.