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 to introduce picks for White House science team

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will introduce key picks for their science team in Wilmington, Delaware, Saturday afternoon.

The picks are:

-Eric Lander: Nominee for director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and presidential science advisor-designate.

-Alondra Nelson: OSTP deputy director for science and society

-Frances H. Arnold: Co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

-Maria Zuber: Co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

In a press release, the Biden transition team said the picks will help the Biden-Harris administration "confront some of the biggest crises and challenges of our time, from climate change and the impact of technology on society to pandemics, racial inequity, and the current historic economic downturn."


Biden announces 5 key nominations at State Department

Biden has announced a new slate of nominations and staff at the Department of State. Many of the picks have ties to both Biden and former President Barack Obama.

The picks are:

-Wendy R. Sherman: Deputy secretary of state

-Brian P. McKeon: Deputy secretary for management and resources

-Bonnie Jenkins: Under secretary for arms control and international security affairs

-Victoria Nuland: Under secretary for political affairs

-Uzra Zeya: Under secretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights

In a statement, the Biden transition team said these key nominations will help "build back better at the State Department, renew and reimagine American leadership to keep us safe at home and abroad, and address the defining challenges of our time — from infectious disease, to terrorism, China, nuclear proliferation, cyber threats, and climate change. They will put into practice the President-elect and Secretary-designate’s vision of a foreign policy that promotes America’s security, prosperity, and values, and delivers for the middle class."

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson


Alex Azar refutes resignation, but criticizes Trump rhetoric

Late Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar refuted several media reports that he was resigning early, but did share his resignation letter -- effective Jan. 20 at noon -- on Twitter.

While Azar wrote on Twitter that it was his "duty to help ensure a smooth transition to President-elect Biden’s team during the pandemic" through Inauguration Day, he did criticize President Donald Trump and called on him to more strongly condemn the violence at the Capitol last week.

"Unfortunately, the actions and rhetoric following the election, especially during this past week, threaten to tarnish these and other historic legacies of this Administration," Azar wrote in the resignation letter. "The attacks on the Capitol were an assault on our democracy and on the tradition of peaceful transitions of power that the United States of America first brought to the world. I implore you to continue to condemn unequivocally any form of violence, to demand that no one attempt to disrupt the inaugural activities in Washington or elsewhere, and to continue to support unreservedly the peaceful and orderly transition of power on January 20, 2021."

Azar clarified he handed in the letter, dated Jan. 12, last week "along with every other political appointee."

The two-page letter, in which he calls serving as HHS secretary "the greatest professional privilege and honor of my life," details the administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Azar paints an entirely rosy picture, referring to it as a "remarkable response," despite skyrocketing deaths and case rates across most of the nation.

"While we mourn every lost life, our early, aggressive, and comprehensive efforts saved hundreds of thousands or even millions of American lives," he wrote, echoing a refrain from the president. There have been over 391,000 deaths in the U.S., nearly twice the number of the second-highest country (208,000 in Brazil).

He also highlighted the agency's efforts to combat the opioid crisis, electronic cigarettes and the HIV epidemic, and made special mention of "protect[ing] the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death."

Azar has served as HHS secretary since January 2018. President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Xavier Becerra, California's attorney general, to serve as his HHS chief.

ABC News' Ben Siu contributed to this report.


Barry Berke, veteran of Trump's 1st impeachment, to be House Dems' top lawyer for 2nd trial

Barry Berke, the veteran New York defense lawyer who helped House Democrats argue President Donald Trump's first impeachment last year, will rejoin the House Judiciary Committee as the panel's lead impeachment lawyer for Trump's second trial, the panel announced Friday.

Berke will serve as chief impeachment counsel, supported by a team of attorneys from the House Judiciary and Oversight committees who helped Democrats make their case to the Senate last year that Trump abused his office by trying to pressure Ukraine's president to dig up dirt on then-candidate Joe Biden.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., unveiled a team of nine new impeachment managers to make the case that Trump should be convicted of inciting the Capitol Hill riot that left five people dead, the presence of Berke and the rest of the legal team underscores the unique position House Democrats are in: For the first time in American history, they will have a team of lawyers behind them with experience arguing in a Senate impeachment trial.

Democrats could transmit the impeachment article to the Senate as early as next week, which could trigger the start of proceedings following Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.

There has been no official announcement on who will represent Trump in the trial, but personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Alan Dershowitz, who took part in the last trial, may be on the team, sources told ABC News. Trump favorite John Eastman, who led a failed election challenge to the Supreme Court, could also join the team.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Benjamin Siegel


Biden outlines major points of recovery plan during his address

Biden outlined the major points of his rescue plan: a $1.9 trillion proposal that includes a nationwide vaccination program, $1,400 checks for individuals, an extension and expansion of unemployment benefits and help for struggling communities and businesses.

Biden placed particular emphasis on housing and food insecurity and spoke about expanding SNAP benefits. He said his policy plan would extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium, potentially previewing an executive action we could see next week. He also asked Congress to appropriate funds for rental assistance.

Biden, who preached bipartisanship while on the trail, said both he and Vice President-elect Harris had spoken with officials, mayors, and governors of both parties on a regular basis to address the problems across the country.

The president-elect also emphasized his plan's focus on helping small businesses and minority-owned businesses in particular, criticizing the Trump administration's initial approach which he said favored the wealthy and well-connected.

"Last week, I laid out how we'll make sure that our emergency small business relief is distributed swiftly and equitably, unlike the first time around. We're going to focus on small businesses, on Main Street. We'll focus on minority-owned small businesses, women-owned small businesses, and finally having equal access to the resources they need to reopen and to rebuild," Biden said.

He also pushed his plan for a mandatory federal minimum wage of $15 an hour.

"People tell me that's going to be hard to pass. Florida just passed it, as divided as that state is, they just passed it. The rest of the country is ready to move as well," he said. "No one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line. And that's what it means. If you work for less than $15 an hour and work 40 hours a week, you're living in poverty."

He frankly noted the "bold, practical" policy he was putting forward did not come cheap but argued there was no option to act.

"I know what I just described does not come cheaply. But failure to do so will cost us dearly," he said. "The consensus among leading economists is we simply cannot afford not to do what I'm proposing."

Biden ended his remarks with a call for unity and optimism, referencing his inauguration on Wednesday as a "new chapter for the country."

-ABC News' John Verhovek, Molly Nagle, Averi Harper and Beatrice Peterson