Election 2020 live updates: Biden warns more may die from COVID without transition cooperation

USA TODAY'S coverage of the 2020 election continues this week as states prepare to finish certifying their vote counts after Joe Biden's victory in the hard-fought presidential race. President Donald Trump has yet to concede the race as Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris meet with transition advisers and prepare to take office in January.

Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the election and the transition.

Rep. Cedric Richmond to leave Congress, join Biden administration

Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond will join President-elect Joe Biden’s White House, according to the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Washington Post.

The congressman will take on a public engagement role that will allow him to focus on outreach to the Black community and other groups, according to the Associated Press. Richmond was one of the earliest backers of Biden’s presidential campaign and later served as a co-chair.

Richmond’s role will likely mirror that of former senior Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, sources told the AP.

When asked about the news, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, who has been a strong ally of Richmond’s, said he thought the pick was “great” and that Richmond “is very gifted, very energetic.”

Richmond, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, built a strong relationship with then-Vice President Biden during the Obama administration, despite being elected after the now president-elect had already left Congress for the White House.

Richmond has scheduled a Tuesday morning news conference in which he’s expected to announce that he’s leaving his congressional seat.

– Matthew Brown

Georgia audit finds 2,500 ballots not previously counted in conservative county

The Georgia hand tally of the presidential race has turned up more than 2,500 votes in one county that weren’t previously counted, though election officials said the newfound ballots wouldn’t change the ultimate result of the race.

Election officials said they weren’t sure how the ballots, which were found in conservative-leaning Floyd County, were missed. County election board Chairman Tom Rees said it appears the roughly 2,500 ballots were cast during in-person early voting.

The hand count of the state’s ballots is the result of a Georgia law that requires such a process after any new voting systems are implemented, as was done this year. The process is not part of any suspected misconduct or stems from an official recount request.

“The reason you do an audit is to find this kind of thing,” said Gabriel Sterling, an official in the Georgia secretary of state’s office who oversaw the implementation of the state’s new voting system.

Almost 5 million votes were cast in the November election in Georgia, with President-elect Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump by about 14,000 votes in the Peach State.

County election officials were instructed to start the count by 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, and to finish it by 11:59 p.m. this Wednesday, Nov. 18. The deadline for the state to certify its election results is Friday, Nov. 20.

– Matthew Brown

Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon to be White House deputy chief of staff

Biden presidential campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon will become the president-elect’s White House deputy chief of staff, according to NBC News and Politico.

The news comes after Ron Klain, a longtime aide to the president-elect, was announced as Biden’s White House chief of staff.

O’Malley Dillon oversaw Biden’s campaign during both the Democratic primary and general election against President Donald Trump, seeing the operation through both an early cash-strapped period, as well as a major digital shakeup in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

As deputy chief of staff, O’Malley Dillon will be one of the most senior officials in the White House, overseeing the bureaucracy and working closely with President-elect Joe Biden.

O’Malley Dillon has previously worked as presidential campaign manager for Beto O’Rourke and as an aide on both of former President Barack Obama’s campaigns.

She has also worked as executive director of the Democratic National Committee and is a founding partner at the progressive communications firm Precision Strategies.

– Matthew Brown

GOP flips another House seat, this time in Utah

Utah’s only Democrat on Capitol Hill conceded his race Monday.

Rep. Ben McAdams, a former Salt Lake County mayor who squeaked into Congress two years ago, lost narrowly to Republican Burgess Owens, a former pro football player and youth advocate.

Republicans have now flipped 12 seats, eating into a Democratic majority that analysts had projected would likely grow. Democrats will maintain control of the House in January but with a much slimmer margin than they currently have.

Owens becomes the second Black Republican to win election to the House in this election, joining Byron Donalds, who won an open Southwest Florida district.

House Republicans have made expanding the party’s people of color and female representation a priority this cycle. So far, 17 women have been elected on Nov. 3 for the first time – more than doubling the number of female GOP lawmakers in the current Congress.

McAdams, who turns 46 next month, drew national headlines in March when he was hospitalized with the coronavirus – only the second member of the House to contract the virus. He spent several days in the hospital and lost 13 pounds.

– Ledyard King

Biden warns 'more people may die' from COVID without cooperation on transition

President-elect Joe Biden put the potential impact of the Trump's administration refusal to cooperate with his transition team in stark terms on Monday, saying "more people may die" if they are not able to coordinate on management of the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite insurmountable vote counts, the president has continued to refuse to concede the race, baselessly insisting the election was stolen, citing false claims about widespread voter fraud. Amid his legal challenges to the election results, his administration has not authorized funds needed to initiate the transition, shared the president's daily intelligence briefing with Biden or coordinated with Biden's coronavirus team.

Biden said formalizing the transition to his administration would help him pull together a serious and consistent plan for dealing with the pandemic while choosing his personnel and coordinating with business and labor officials.

“It would make it a lot easier if the president were to participate,” Biden said.

On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases through five previous presidential transitions, said on CNN's "State of the Union" that “obviously, it would be better if we could start working with” the Biden transition team.

"It's almost like passing a baton in a race," Fauci said. "You don't want to stop and then give it to somebody. You want to just essentially keep going. And that is what transition is."

Biden said that while Monday's news of second successful vaccine in early trials was important, the important work of giving to more than 300 million Americans lay ahead, and a coordinated transition would speed that process along.

"Getting a vaccine and a vaccination are two different things,” Biden said. “The sooner we have access to the administration’s distribution plan, the sooner this transition would smoothly move forward."

– William Cummings and Bart Jansen

Illinois Rep. Bustos becomes at least 25th member of Congress to test positive for COVID

Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, a member of the House Democratic leadership team, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Bustos made the announcement on Twitter Monday, saying she was experiencing “mild symptoms” and was quarantining at home.

“I have tested positive for the COVID virus. I am experiencing mild symptoms, but still feel well. I have been in contact with my medical provider and, per CDC guidance, am self-isolating,” she tweeted.

Bustos, who represents northwest Illinois, is now at least the 25th member of Congress to contract the virus since the pandemic started in March.

Running list: Which members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19?

Her diagnosis comes as the country grapples with a surge of cases. As of Monday, more than 11.1 million infections and 246,758 deaths have been reported across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The surge has been especially pronounced in the Midwest, a point Bustos made in her announcement.

“Across the country and the Congressional district I serve, COVID case numbers are skyrocketing,” she tweeted.

Bustos heads the campaign arm for House Democrats. She announced last week she won’t seek a second term chairing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee following a disappointing Nov. 3 election where the party’s majority in the House shrank despite projections it would expand.

– Ledyard King

Sen. Lankford, who said he would ‘step in’ to help Biden get intel briefings, won’t pressure Trump admin.

Joe Biden is still not getting the daily intelligence briefings presidents-elect traditionally receive despite calls by a key Republican senator that he would “step in” to help make that happen.

Last week, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told a Tulsa, Oklahoma, radio station he not only thinks Biden should be getting the same briefings President Donald Trump is getting but that he would intervene.

“There’s nothing wrong with (former) vice president Biden getting the briefings to be able to prepare himself so he can be ready,” he told KRMG. “If that’s not occurring by Friday (Nov. 13), I will step in as well and be able to push that this needs to occur.”

But Saturday, Lankford told Newsmax, a conservative media outlet, that his comments were misconstrued with regard to the General Services Administration, the little-known federal agency that oversees the transition from one administration to the next. Lankford is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs subcommittee that oversees the GSA.

Lankford said he’s not trying to pressure the GSA to provide the briefings but simply wants them to explain the process for deciding whether Biden – or any future presidential candidate – should be recognized as the president-elect for the purposes of access to transition funding and documents, such as the daily briefings.

“GSA has never been challenged at this spot to say ‘make a decision.’ In their statute, it says they have to ascertain who the winner was and then start to be able help them in the transition. Well, ascertain could mean a lot of things to a lot of people. So, they’ve got to be able to work through the process,” Lankford told Newsmax. “So, as the oversight person for them, I’m engaging with them to help them through this process to just be a sounding board for their team. But they’ve got to make the decision.”

On Sunday, Biden’s incoming chief of staff Ron Klain told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that they’re hoping to start receiving the briefings this week.

Trump continues to contest the election, even though results show him losing both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

Biden used to get briefings as the Democratic president nominee but no longer gets them. But he told reporters Monday that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who is still a senator from California, gets briefings as part of her membership on the Intelligence Committee.

Biden said he hopes Trump will listen to the increasing number of Republicans who say he should receiving the briefings.

“I am hopeful that the president will be mildly more enlightened before we get to Jan. 20," Biden said.

– Ledyard King and Bart Jansen

Georgia election chief fires back at Trump and ex-Rep. Doug Collins

After a barrage of unfounded claims from President Donald Trump questioning various aspects of Georgia’s voting system, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger fired back.

In a series of Facebook posts from the Secretary of State page, Raffensperger, a Republican, addressed claims about the makers of the state’s election system, Dominion, as well as claims made by the president about Georgia’s recount and absentee ballots system.

Raffensperger, in an uncharacteristically aggressive retort, included a shot at former Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican who was gunning for the senate seat currently held by Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Collins, who didn’t get enough votes to make it into the runoff, has repeated Trump's misleading claims about the Georgia recount.

“We strengthened signature match. We helped train election officials on GBI signature match — which is confirmed twice before a ballot is ever cast. Failed candidate Doug Collins is a liar — but what’s new?” Raffensperger’s post read.

“Our office has received multiple requests to match ballots back to voters — exposing how a Georgia voter has voted.” Raffensperger’s post read. “We stand ready to prevent any and all attempts from any party to intimidate voters. Georgia voters have a right to vote in secret without intimidation from any political candidate or party. ”

– Will Peebles, Savannah Morning News

In a break with other advisers, Trump’s national security adviser talks Trump legacy, promises smooth transition

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien seems more ready to accept the Nov. 3 election results than his boss or other top White House allies.

During an interview Monday, O’Brien talked about the end of Trump’s term, promised a “very professional transition” to a Biden-Harris administration, and even referred to “President Biden,” although Democrat Joe Biden is still just “president-elect” until the inauguration on Jan. 20.

O’Brien did qualify his remarks, referring to the Trump campaign’s ongoing legal challenges to the election results. But his comments, made during an interview with the Hill as part of a global security conference, were far more conciliatory than other Trump officials, some of whom have suggested Trump will have a second term in the White House despite the election results showing Biden won.

“If the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner and … obviously things look that way now, we'll have a very professional transition from the National Security Council. There's no question about it,” O’Brien said.

He even said Biden will have “very professional folks who are coming in to take these positions, many of whom have been here before and spent a lot of time in the White House” in prior administrations.

O’Brien said one legacy of the Trump administration would be the accords it negotiated between Israel and several Arab countries, and he quickly added that he hoped a Biden administration would preserve and strengthen those.

If the current lawsuits “don’t work out for the president and President Biden becomes our next president, I really hope that a Biden-Harris administration” will continue to pursue those accords, O’Brien said.

He also said there’s at least one last foreign policy matter Trump would like to achieve in his final days: securing the release of an American hostage held in Syria, Austin Tice. “I’d like to get him back and I know the president would like to see him back before he leaves office.”

– Deirdre Shesgreen

Trump hints at primary challenge for GOP governor who acknowledged Biden win

President Donald Trump appears to be encouraging a primary challenge to Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

Trump tweeted on Monday morning "Who will be running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio? Will be hotly contested!"

DeWine was a co-chair of Trump's re-election campaign in Ohio, but he was among a select group of Republicans who last week acknowledged former Vice President Joe Biden as president-elect.

On CNN on Sunday, DeWine said Trump should begin the transition to Biden. Trump has refused to concede the race and has used his Twitter account to advance unfounded conspiracy theories about the election.

– Rick Rouan and Jessie Balmert, The Columbus Dispatch

The election process: What to expect in the next 60 days

Trump and Biden celebrate news of second successful COVID vaccine

President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden both took to Twitter to celebrate the news that the biotechnology company Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective against the coronavirus in initial trials. Earlier this month, Pfizer announced its vaccine had been 90% effective, according to preliminary results.

"Today's news of a second vaccine is further reason to feel hopeful," tweeted Biden. But the incoming president cautioned that the vaccine was still "months away" and "Americans need to continue to practice social-distancing and mask-wearing to get the virus under control."

Biden also congratulated "the brilliant women and men who produced this breakthrough and have brought us one step closer to beating this virus," and he thanked the "frontline workers who are still confronting the virus around the clock."

Trump's tweet focused on his own role in the development.

"Another Vaccine just announced. This time by Moderna, 95% effective," Trump tweeted. "For those great 'historians', please remember that these great discoveries, which will end the China Plague, all took place on my watch!"

– William Cummings

Second coronavirus vaccine shows promise: Moderna's candidate COVID-19 vaccine looks to protect 94.5% of those who get it, trial shows

SEC Chairman Clayton to leave at the end of the year

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton confirmed Monday that he is stepping down at the end of the year. President Donald Trump's appointee has served in the role since May 2017.

"Working alongside the incredibly talented and driven women and men of the SEC has been the highlight of my career," Clayton said in a statement, adding his thanks to "President Trump for the opportunity, and the support and freedom, to lead" them.

The SEC statement credited Clayton with advancing the agency's transparency and modernization, promoting diversity and helping markets manage the coronavirus pandemic.

Clayton's term was scheduled to end in June.

According to Bloomberg and The New York Times, which first reported Clayton's departure, President-elect Joe Biden's top choices to head the SEC are Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama administration, and Preet Bharara, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

– William Cummings

Trump COVID adviser Scott Atlas tells Michigan to 'rise up' against new measures

Dr. Scott Atlas, a member of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, faced heavy criticism after he told Michiganders to "rise up" in a tweet in response to the new COVID-19 restrictions announced by the state's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday.

Whitmer held a news conference to announce that because of the rising rate of COVID-19 infections, she was suspending in-person classes for school and college, as well as indoor dining, for three weeks.

"The only way this stops is if people rise up. You get what you accept," Atlas tweeted shortly after Whitmer's announcement. The tweet echoed Trump's controversial call on April 17 to "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" in the face of similar restrictions.

Atlas later clarified Monday that he was not advocating violence. But many criticized his choice of words regarding a state where armed protesters against coronavirus measures at one time flooded the state Capitol, and where an armed group recently targeted Whitmer in a kidnapping plot that was foiled by the FBI.

"We know that the White House likes to single us out here in Michigan – me out in particular," Whitmer said when asked about Atlas' comment on CNN. "I'm not going to be bullied into not following reputable scientists and medical professionals."

Whitmer stressed the word reputable and said she consults with experts who "actually have studied" infectious diseases. She did not refer to Atlas – a neuroradiologist whose views on the coronavirus were criticized by some of his former Stanford University colleagues as running "counter to established science" – by name, but rather as "the individual" who is "doing the president's bidding."

– William Cummings

Biden and Harris to speak on economic plans Monday

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will speak about the economy Monday afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware, according to a press release from the Biden-Harris transition team.

The Democratic duo will speak "on the economic recovery and building back better in the long-term," in their first speech addressing the country’s economic situation since their victory in the presidential election.

During the campaign, Biden laid out an expansive economic agenda focused on increasing the number of U.S. jobs, strengthening the social safety net and fighting economic inequality.

The scale of Biden’s plans now, however, hinge on whether Democrats will narrowly control the Senate or if all legislation must be negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Analysts have projected that Biden’s proposals will bring back the 11 million jobs and $670 billion in annualized gross domestic product wiped out – and not yet recovered – in the crisis more rapidly than if President Donald Trump had won a second term.

The speech in Wilmington is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. EDT.

– Matthew Brown and Paul Davidson

Dems' economic vision: What Biden and other Democrats have proposed for 401(k) plans, home ownership and building wealth

Trump faces criticism for delaying Biden transition amid raging pandemic

President Donald Trump faced mounting criticism Sunday for continuing to focus his message on the election and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud while sidestepping a resurgent coronavirus spike raging across the country.

New coronavirus cases have surged in the U.S. during November, with the country hitting record new infection levels.

Trump's critics said Sunday that by refusing to acknowledge the results of the Nov. 3 election, Trump was delaying the transition and complicating President-elect Joe Biden's ability to hit the ground running in the battle against COVID-19.

"It's almost like passing a baton in a race – you don't want to stop and then give it to somebody," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said of the transition. "You want to just essentially keep going."

Biden campaign officials are prohibited from interacting with agency leaders, including those at public health agencies, until the Trump administration formally recognizes the outcome of the election – a recognition that has not yet taken place. Fauci said starting those conversations now would have an "obvious" benefit for the next administration.

"Of course it would be better if we could start working with them," he told CNN's "State of the Union."

– John Fritze

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election updates: Biden warns of more COVID deaths without transition