Politics live updates: Trump weighs joining Giuliani in Gettysburg to question election results – then cancels

The official managing the Pentagon’s transition work with President-elect Joe Biden’s landing team said that the first meeting was held virtually on Tuesday morning and that he expected daily meetings to come. (Nov. 24) AP Domestic

USA TODAY’S coverage of the 2020 election and President-elect Biden’s transition continues this week as states certify their vote counts. President Donald Trump has yet to concede the race but his administration Monday cleared the way for Biden’s team to have access to federal resources and briefings during the transition.

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

President Donald Trump canceled a trip that had been under consideration Wednesday to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where state lawmakers are holding an event to raise questions about the outcome of the contest in the pivotal battleground.

In Gettysburg, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is joining other Republicans at a Pennsylvania Senate Majority Policy Committee meeting on election issues and alleged irregularities. 

Though the trip was not listed on Trump’s public schedule, the White House had gathered the group of traveling reporters – known as the press “pool” – for a trip to Pennsylvania. Reporters were later told it was called off. 

The decision to bow out is only the latest indication that aides close to Trump are divided about the path forward, with some acknowledging privately that Democrat Joe Biden won the election but others pushing Trump to continue to fight.

Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference on legal challenges to vote counting in Pennsylvania, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Philadelphia.

 (Photo: Matt Slocum, AP)

Trump and his legal team have leveled allegations of widespread voting problems in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, but have not provided evidence to back up the claims. Pennsylvania has already certified the results of the election, confirming Biden won with a margin of 80,555 votes and handing the Democrat the state’s 20 electoral votes.

A federal judge in the state dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump campaign over the weekend in a scathing order that cited “strained legal arguments” that were “unsupported by evidence.” That case is pending before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

– John Fritze

China’s Xi congratulates Joe Biden, Putin still a holdout

Chinese President’s Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Joe Biden on his election win, among the last world leaders to do so.

Biden will face a series of difficult decisions on U.S.-China policy, including how aggressively to confront the country’s human rights violations, trade practices and regional aggression.

Xi’s congratulations came after the Trump administration cleared the way for Biden to begin his official transition, although President Donald Trump continues to contest the election and make unfounded allegations of fraud.

In a message to the U.S. president-elect, Xi said he hoped the U.S. and China would “uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation,” according to a statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington.

China’s vice president, Wang Qishan, also sent a message to Kamala Harris to congratulate her on election as vice president, the embassy said.

While dozens of leaders across the globe have called Biden to offer their election congratulations, there are still a few holdouts, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A spokesman for Putin said on Tuesday that Trump’s decision to greenlight Biden’s transition was “not enough” to merit an official recognition from Moscow of Biden’s victory. Biden is expected to take a tougher approach to Russia than Trump did.

“You know that the consideration and recount of votes in some states is still ongoing, without which the election results cannot be officially summed up,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Interfax.

– Deirdre Shesgreen

Biden surpasses 80 million votes 

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden surpassed 80 million votes, the most votes a candidate has received in U.S. history.

Biden’s transition also kicked into gear after much delay and reluctance by the Trump administration. Just hours after Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, said she’ll allow Biden to begin his transition to the White House, Biden’s transition website on Monday night began existing under a government top-level domain.

Will Trump concede? The OK of a Biden transition may be as close as Trump gets

President-elect Joe Biden removes his face mask as he arrives to introduce his nominees and appointees to key national security and foreign policy posts at The Queen theater, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware.

 (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

On Tuesday, it was reported that Biden will now begin receiving the same daily intelligence briefings that President Donald Trump receives, and his transition team is now communicating with all federal agencies.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Biden said he has not started intelligence briefings but would soon.

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