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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Kemp no longer greeting Pence in Georgia 'due to a family emergency'

Vice President Mike Pence is heading to Georgia on Friday to headline an afternoon rally for GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in the state's upcoming runoff elections -- races set to decide the overall control of the U.S. Senate.

Trump will be traveling to Georgia Saturday to support the candidates at an airport hangar rally hosted by the Republican National Committee. It will be Trump's first rally since losing the election.

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was slated to greet Pence upon his arrival in Savannah, but Kemp's Communications Director Cody Hall, tweeted Friday afternoon that he no longer will be "due to a family emergency."

The vice president's visit to Georgia comes as the president continues to slam the state's election process and its officials -- including Kemp -- in the aftermath of his loss there in the presidential election, and as a growing number of Republicans have expressed concerns that rhetoric coming from Trump and some allies could suppress GOP turnout for the runoff races on Jan. 5.

While Pence rallies for Purdue and Loeffler, former President Barack Obama will join a virtual rally for the Democratic contenders, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan


Biden speaks of 'grim' November jobs report but says he's 'encouraged' by bipartisan COVID-19 package

In a lengthy paper statement released Friday ahead of his afternoon speech, Biden lamented the "grim" November jobs report, saying it shows an economy "stalling" and confirms that the nation remains in "one of the worst economic and jobs crises in modern history."

Biden also cautioned that this report is just a snapshot of the economy prior to the deadly surge in cases the nation is seeing now, adding that the economic situation will get worse if Congress and Trump do not act in the coming weeks.

A $908 billion COVID-19 relief proposal advanced by a bipartisan group of Senators has gained momentum on Capitol Hill with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaking over the phone Thursday to discuss pandemic relief for the first time since the November election -- but the deal is not yet done as lawmakers work to craft the bill's final language.

Biden said in Friday's statement that while he is "encouraged" by the bipartisan $908 billion relief bill working its way through Congress, it is not nearly enough to stem the negative effects the pandemic has had on the American economy, calling it "just the start."

He reiterated that he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are working on a plan they hope to get passed when they take office in January, encouraging the country to come together to beat back the virus.

-ABC News' John Verhovek


Biden pledges to bring 'most pro-equality' admin in history

Biden appeared before the 2020 International LGBTQ Leaders Conference Friday morning and in brief pre-recorded remarks to kick off the event pledged to bring the most “pro-equality” administration in history.

“A historic number of LGBTQ people ran for office this year, and they won, many of them. It's an honor to be an ally and have been on the ballot with all of you,” Biden said. “Vice President-elect Harris and I are committed to being the most pro-equality administration in history. But we can't do it without you.”

Biden also congratulated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on her receiving the Victory Institute’s History Maker Award, which recognizes "change-makers" who have led the LGBTQ community as elected officials or other public servants.

“You're an American treasure. And I can't wait to work together again with you to continue to fight for full equality and to usher in a new era of LGBTQ rights and the entire movement,” he said.

To fulfill this promise, Biden has vowed to eliminate executive orders deemed discriminatory to LGBTQ Americans and enacted under the Trump administration, including a current ban on transgender Americans from serving in the military, and to bring back an Obama-era protection that allowed transgender students to use bathrooms based on their gender identity.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle


Trump pushes dozens of 'midnight regulations'

As Trump keeps a lower profile during his final weeks in office, behind the scenes the administration is racing to solidify his legacy, fulfill campaign promises and overhaul federal regulations that could take Biden years to undo.

From immigration to environmental protections, the Trump administration is quietly pushing to finalize more than three-dozen rule changes that could have significant impact for years.

"We call them 'midnight regulations.' It's the last chance to put these rules on the books before the Trump administration changes to the Biden administration," said ProPublica investigative reporter Isaac Arnsdorf, who has created an online database tracking the pending regulations for the nonprofit news site. "They can be reversed, but not easily."

They include religious exemptions for federal contractors under employment discrimination laws; looser water efficiency standards for shower heads and washing machines; and stricter eligibility for food stamps, even as millions out of work in the pandemic look to the government for help.

Many of the most significant last-minute regulations are focused on environmental and scientific policy, including a controversial effort to ban EPA use of any scientific study that doesn't fully disclose all of the underlying raw data. Its defenders call it a step toward transparency, while critics call it censorship.

Some of Trump's final acts face challenges in court, and if Democrats win control of the Senate, there could be fast-track repeals of recently finalized regulations. But experts say most of the policy changes won't be easily undone.

-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer and Jon Schlosberg