Trump-Biden transition updates: Trump continues to tout he won election at Ga. rally

The president was in Georgia to campaign for the senatorial runoff races.

President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 45 days.


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Biden expected to tap Vivek Murthy for surgeon general, key role in COVID response

Biden is poised to nominate Dr. Vivek Murthy to serve as surgeon general, a key role in the government's coronavirus response, multiple sources told ABC News. He will be elevating Murthy, a key member of his coronavirus advisory team, to the position he previously held in the Obama administration, according to the sources familiar with his plans.

Biden will begin rolling out members of his health team early next week, though a transition spokesperson declined to comment on Biden's plan's for Murthy.

Murthy, who has advised Biden on the pandemic throughout his campaign and transition, is expected to hold a broader portfolio in the next administration than he held under President Barack Obama.

Biden could also give Murthy an expanded title or elevate the role of the surgeon general within the administration, according to sources close to the transition, though no decision has been made.

Murthy is reportedly no longer under consideration to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Jeffrey Zients, a senior transition official who served as a senior economic adviser to Obama, is also expected to coordinate the Biden administration's coronavirus response from the White House, working with Murthy to lead the effort, according to sources close to the transition.

Additionally, Biden has asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, to serve as his chief medical adviser.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel, John Santucci, Katherine Faulders, Molly Nagle and Anne Flaherty


Biden predicts ‘very bleak’ future without another COVID-19 relief package 

Biden delivered afternoon remarks from Wilmington, Delaware, on the final jobs report of 2020 out Friday morning, warning of a “very bleak” future if Congress and the president don't pass another COVID-19 relief package.

“The folks I'm talking about out there aren't looking for a handout. They just need help. They're in trouble through no fault of their own. Nothing they did caused them to have hours cut or lose their job or drop out of the market,” Biden began. “We're in a crisis. We need to come together as a nation. We need the Congress to act and act now," he said, noting that unemployment benefits are set to expire for 12 million Americans on Dec. 12.

His remarks come after a new jobs report shows the labor market clawing its way out of the pandemic-induced downturn and still far away from a full recovery -- with unemployment at 6.7%. The unemployment rate was 3.5% in February before the crisis hit.

“It was grim. It shows an economy that’s stalling,” Biden said of the report. “We remain in the midst of one of the worst economic job crises in modern history, but it doesn't have to stay that way.”

ABC News’ Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce pressed Biden on how he would get Republicans to sign on to another relief package when he takes office when they’ve hesitated to sign on to the $908 billion bipartisan deal. Asked if he’s spoken with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell yet, Biden paused before responding.

“We'll be in dire trouble if we don't get cooperation. I believe we will,” he said.


Ahead of Tuesday meeting, NAACP calls on Biden to appoint more people of color to senior-Cabinet posts

The NAACP, along with prominent civil rights organizations and members of Congress, are placing pressure on Biden to appoint more Black officials to senior Cabinet positions. The president-elect has named several people of color to key administration roles, including two African American women but to positions that are not considered permanent Cabinet-level positions.

Civil rights groups are pushing to see more minorities in signature Cabinet roles, overseeing agencies with thousands of federal workers, given Biden's promise to elevate the priorities of minority communities on the campaign trail.

Among the African American contenders for other top Cabinet slots are former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick for Attorney General and former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to lead the Pentagon. However, Derek Johnson, the president of the NAACP, said he was astounded that the Biden transition team did not invite civil rights organizations to be part of the process on the selection of Cabinet appointments.

"If you look at the transition team, there is not a single civil rights organization engaged on any of the review committees," said Johnson. "There was no inclusion of the civil rights community or racial justice advocates to be a part of the table setting how this administration will prioritize the four of his announced pillars."

The Biden transition says the incoming administration is in regular contact with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss planning, including receiving recommendations for potential nominees and has engaged with the National Urban League and the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund.

"The legal defense fund is not a part of any conversation outside of them calling," Johnson said. "So I don't want them to parse the reality of what's taking place."

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are slated to meet with NAACP representatives on Tuesday.

-ABC News' Matthew Vann and Benjamin Siegel


Biden transition to announce health team picks early next week

In their weekly transition press briefing, incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said that members of the president-elect’s health team will be rolled out “early next week” and elaborated on Biden’s announcement that he would ask all Americans to wear a mask for 100 days on his first day in office.

Bedingfield reiterated that Biden would take action to mandate face coverings where he could and said more information would be made public in the coming weeks.

“He's going to use the power that he has available to him to mandate mask-wearing in places where he has the authority to do so, including on federal lands and in interstate commerce," she said.

She also said that all 40-plus of the transition’s agency review teams are engaging with their counterparts in the federal government regularly and have held over 1,000 meetings thus far, noting the team’s meeting with the nation's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday as a sign of progress.

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