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 former Senate candidate as DNC chair

Biden on Thursday announced his slate for new leadership at the Democratic National Committee, including former South Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison to be the next chair of the DNC.

Harrison, who lost the 2020 race to GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham last year, despite breaking numerous fundraising records, will officially become DNC chair after the full committee votes on Jan. 21, the day after Biden's inauguration.

Graham congratulated Harrison on the news in a tweet earlier Thursday.

In addition to Harrison, Biden also announced the names of four DNC vice chairs, all of whom were prominent backers of his presidential campaign, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who served as a campaign co-chair.

Whitmer is joined by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Texas Rep. Filemon Vela as new DNC vice chairs.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Harrison an "inspiring, energizing and influential" in a press release.

"As former Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party and senatorial candidate, Jaime brings an outstanding track record of success -- from galvanizing the grassroots, mobilizing millions and shattering fundraising records -- that will be critical during this pivotal moment for our Party and Country," she added.

-ABC News' John Verhovek and Beatrice Peterson


Pence visits Capitol, addresses National Guardsmen

During an unscheduled stop on Capitol Hill, Vice President Mike Pence greeted National Guardsmen and telling them that he had just come from a briefing where he heard about their efforts.

He thanked the personnel for "stepping forward for your country" to make the historic transfer of power possible.

"It's been my great honor to serve as your vice president and I want to thank you for your service," Pence said.

The vice president then spoke to individual guardsmen asking them where they are from and how long they served.

About 20,000 National Guard members are expected in Washington this week to protect the city ahead of Biden's inauguration.

"Have a safe inauguration," Pence said.

-ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas and John Parkinson


Top Democrats vow to get to work on Biden's COVID-19 rescue package proposal

Congressional Democratic leaders commended Biden's announcement outlining his COVID-19 emergency relief proposal.

"The emergency relief framework announced by the incoming Biden-Harris Administration tonight is the right approach. It shows that Democrats will finally have a partner at the White House that understands the need to take swift action to address the needs of struggling communities," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

"We will get right to work to turn President-elect Biden's vision into legislation that will pass both chambers and be signed into law," they added.

"The robust package announced by President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris shows we now have the necessary leadership in the Executive Branch to turn this around and we are ready to get to work to deliver aid without delay," Pelosi and Schumer said.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan


Biden to outline $1.9 trillion 'COVID Rescue Plan' in evening remarks

Biden will propose a $1.9 trillion, “American Rescue Plan" to address the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination effort and immediate economic need to Americans in evening remarks, transition officials disclosed on a call with reporters Thursday.

According to officials on the call, the rescue policy is only one part of Biden’s overall policy, with a “recovery” phase expected to be introduced in February. They said Biden’s rescue policy will include three components: Tackling vaccine distribution, ramping up testing and getting kids back in school within the first 100 days of his administration; delivering $1,400 per-person direct stimulus checks and expanding unemployment benefits, including $400 weekly benefit through September on top of state benefits; and delivering aid to states and communities to support small businesses, addressing housing insecurity by expanding the eviction and foreclosure moratorium through Sept. 2021.

More than $1 trillion of the $1.9 trillion price tag will be used for direct stimulus, officials said, while $400 billion will go toward COVID-19-related projects, including the nationwide vaccination program, and $440 billion will go toward relief for communities and businesses.

Biden will also call for Congress to provide $350 billion for state local and territorial governments, an effort to keep essential workers on the job.

If enacted, it would be one of the largest and most expensive economic stimulus packages in U.S. history.

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


Officials issue wide-ranging ‘threat assessment’ ahead of Biden’s inauguration 

The FBI, DHS, Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police, along with several local law enforcement agencies, have issued an extensive "threat assessment" surrounding Wednesday's inauguration.

It covers a range of threats surrounding the inauguration, including not only physical threats from domestic terrorists but also influence campaigns from Russia, China and Iran stemming from the Capitol siege. It even covers physical threats from drones.

The memo says domestic extremists is the “most likely” threat to the inauguration, citing recent incidents of ideologically motivated violence, including the deadly mob at the U.S. Capitol building.

Regarding foreign concerns, the assessment said that since the incident at the Capitol, “Russian, Iranian, and Chinese influence actors have seized the opportunity to amplify narratives in furtherance of their policy interest amid the presidential transition.”

“We have not identified any specific, credible information indicating that these actors intend to explicitly commit violence,” it added. “Furthermore, we have not identified any specific, credible cyber threat to critical infrastructure supporting the upcoming Presidential Inauguration nor a specific credible cyber threat to military or law enforcement personnel supporting the event."

The memo did say, however, that Russian state media has “amplified themes related to the violent and chaotic nature of the Capitol Hill incident, impeachment of President Trump, and social media censorship.”

Iranian state media has “continued to stoke claims that President Trump encouraged and incited the violence, as well as calls to invoke the 25th amendment,” the memo added. It has also “amplified perceived concerns related to President Trump’s mental health and the prospect of other risky actions he could take before leaving office.”

Finally, it noted that Chinese media has “seized the story to denigrate US democratic governance -- casting the United States as broadly in decline -- and to justify China’s crackdown on protestors in Hong Kong."

Lastly, the memo warned that drones could disrupt law enforcement operations at the inauguration, though it added that it does not have “specific, credible information” indicating malicious actors have plans to use unmanned aircraft systems to target the event.

-ABC News’ Mike Levine