Trump campaign distances itself from attorney Sidney Powell: Transition updates
The campaign now says she's not a member of the president's legal team.
President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward with transition plans, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede the election two weeks after Biden was projected as the winner and is taking extraordinary moves to challenge the results.
Running out of legal alternatives to override the election loss, Trump invited Michigan's top Republican state lawmakers to visit the White House on Friday, as he and allies pursue a pressure campaign to overturn results in a state Biden won by more than 150,000 votes.
Despite Trump's roadblocks and his administration refusing to recognize Biden as the president-elect, Biden is forging ahead as he prepares to announce key Cabinet positions.
Though Trump has alleged widespread voter fraud, he and his campaign haven't been able to provide the evidence to substantiate their claims and the majority of their lawsuits have already resulted in unfavorable outcomes.
Top headlines:
Rudy Giuliani files to appear in Pennsylvania election case
Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, has filed papers to appear on behalf of the Trump campaign in the federal election lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania.
The request follows the primary lawyer handling the case, Republican attorney Linda A. Kerns, submitting papers with the U.S. District Court Monday saying she had "reached a mutual agreement that Plaintiffs will be best served" if she withdrew.
She's the second lawyer helping lead Trump's effort to contest the outcome of the 2020 election who has asked to step aside, according to federal court filings.
The president installed Giuliani to lead legal efforts he has mounted to resuscitate his failed bid for a second term in office, a move that came after a series of defeats in court on Friday.
-ABC News' Matthew Mosk and Alex Hosenball
Harris will join Biden transition briefing virtually
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will join Biden’s transition briefing on national security remotely from Washington, D.C., according to an aide.
She joined Biden in-person at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday for their first joint remarks on the economy since they were projected winners of the election.
-ABC News’ Averi Harper
Biden announces members of White House senior staff
Biden, forging ahead with his transition despite Trump's refusals to concede, has named new members of his senior White House staff, bringing several of his closest campaign advisers into the fold.
“I am proud to announce additional members of my senior team who will help us build back better than before," Biden said in a release Monday. "America faces great challenges, and they bring diverse perspectives and a shared commitment to tackling these challenges and emerging on the other side a stronger, more united nation."
Biden announced the following:
Also on the list are some members of Jill Biden’s staff, who worked with her during the campaign:
Overview: Biden team hindered by lack of formal transition from Trump
While Biden forges ahead and continues to build out his White House team, he remains hindered by the lack of a formal concession from Trump.
The Trump administration is still not recognizing Biden as the president-elect, and Biden warned Monday "more people may die" without a the process of a formal transition as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic on top of ongoing national security concerns.
Taking matters into his own hands, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will receive a briefing on national security from security and defense advisers in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday, as they stress their work must begin now and not on Jan. 20.
The briefing comes as Trump makes [geo-political moves not typical of a lame-duck commander-in-chief. Two officials confirmed to ABC News on Monday that orders were expected by the end of this week to reduce troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500 and in Iraq to 2,500 by mid-January.
Notably, Biden has said Harris is still getting briefings based on her role on the Senate Intelligence Committee, but it’s unclear how much she can pass on to Biden.
Pressing forward, Biden is also expected to name a number of senior White House staff as soon as this week, a group that will likely include Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., a key surrogate and his campaign's first national co-chair. Biden's campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon is expected to join the administration as deputy chief of staff, sources confirmed to ABC News.
While Trump has no public events on his schedule for Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence will lead a coronavirus task force meeting at the White House as the administration faces criticism on Trump’s apparent lack of interest in managing the virus. Trump hasn’t attended a task force meeting for months.
It all comes as state certification deadlines approach for the 2020 election, and the Trump campaign, working against those deadlines, also fights against the results which voted him out of office.
Trump campaign distances itself from attorney Sidney Powell
The Trump campaign released a statement Sunday night distancing itself from attorney Sidney Powell, saying she's not a member of the "Trump Legal Team," despite President Trump previously announcing that she was.
"Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team. She is also not a lawyer for the President in his personal capacity," Trump campaign attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis said in a statement.
The statement comes after Powell advanced a series of unproven election claims in an interview on Newsmax and at a recent press conference on behalf of the campaign, portions of which were retweeted by the official GOP Twitter account.
The president last week announced Powell as a member of his legal team along with Giuliani, Ellis, and attorneys Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing.