WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will spend Thursday receiving the presidential daily briefing and meeting with transition team advisers.
There are no public events on their schedule for the day. They are expected, however, to record a joint interview Thursday with CNN’s Jake Tapper, portions of which are scheduled to air after 4 p.m. ET, with the full interview airing at 9 p.m.
- Biden could announce his health team as soon as next week, a transition official told NBC News, including his picks to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the incoming administration’s response to the pandemic. Former Obama Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is a leading contender for HHS secretary, as is Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo.
- Former President Barack Obama and former Georgia House minority leader and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will headline a get-out-the-vote virtual rally Friday for the state’s Democratic Senate candidates, Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock. The event will include a discussion with volunteers ahead of the state’s Dec. 7 voter registration deadline and the start of in-person early voting on Dec. 14.
- Harris announced more senior staff appointments Thursday, including her chief of staff, Hartina Flournoy, who has served as former President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff. Rohini Kosoglu will serve as domestic policy adviser and has been with Harris since her days in the Senate, serving as her chief of staff. Nancy McEldowney, a 30-year veteran of the foreign service, will serve as Harris’ national security adviser.
- Trump has not ruled out the possibility of firing Attorney General William Barr, according to an administration official and two people familiar with the matter who also said a sudden departure is not seen as imminent. This comes after Barr said Tuesday that there’s been no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, contradicting baseless claims made by Trump.
- Ivanka Trump was deposed by attorneys alleging that Trump’s 2017 inauguration committee misused donor funds, according to a new court filing revealed Wednesday.
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wants California’s secretary of state, Alex Padilla, to replace Kamala Harris in the Senate next year.
- Mark Kelly was sworn into the Senate Wednesday by Vice President Mike Pence, giving Democrats a key pickup in the battleground state of Arizona.
President Donald Trump has no public events on his schedule. He’s expected to hold two events Thursday, closed to the press, to present the Medal of Freedom to former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz and to sign legislation that aims to modernize information technology at the federal level and an executive order promoting the use of artificial intelligence in government.
