Janet Yellen will become the Secretary of Treasury, if confirmed, and Neera Tanden would become the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, according to a release from the transition. Yellen, if confirmed, would be the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary.
They also announced Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo as deputy secretary of the Treasury, Cecilia Rouse for Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey to become members of the Council of Economic Advisers. If confirmed, Adeyemo would be the first Black deputy Treasury Secretary.
This release confirms CNN's reporting that Biden would tap Yellen for the Treasury position and Adeyemo for the number two spot.
“This team is comprised of respected and tested groundbreaking public servants who will help the communities hardest hit by COVID-19 and address the structural inequities in our economy,” a statement from Biden included in the release said.
9:53 a.m. ET, November 30, 2020
Sen. Mark Kelly will be sworn in this week, bringing the GOP majority down to 52-48
From CNN's Lauren Fox and Manu Raju
Mark Kelly speaks to supporters on November 3 in Tucson, Arizona. Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images
Senator-elect Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, will be sworn in as a US senator at noon ET on Wednesday, according to a senior Democratic aide.
Kelly defeated Republican Sen. Martha McSally in Arizona's special election.
9:46 a.m. ET, November 30, 2020
How Inauguration Day is adapting due to the pandemic
From CNN's Kate Bennett and Lauren Fox
The White House is pictured at dusk on November 25. Patrick Semansky/AP
Outside President Trump's bedroom window on the north side of the White House is the sound of building: hammers, drills, the beep-beep of trucks backing up and metal planks clanking into place.
Construction of the parade platform for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration festivities is well underway. The viewing stand and bleachers are almost complete and each day they get closer to being done — all within Trump's view —as it becomes clearer his days in the White House are coming to a close.
Despite the uncertainty of the coronavirus and Trump's waning attempts to overturn the election, the structure is a growing reminder of the transition now in motion.
Whatever else must change to accommodate the pandemic, people are getting ready for Biden's inauguration come January, which will likely reflect the President-elect's cautious, science-driven approach to the pandemic.
What's more, the outgoing president may not even go to the incoming president's swearing-in. Three White House officials familiar with Trump's moods and patterns speculate he won't be there for the hand-off.
"I can't foresee a scenario where he goes and that tradition carries on as normal," one of the officials tells CNN.
No doubt, the pomp and circumstance will be noticeably different this time around, according to interviews with multiple aides and administration officials, from the White House to Capitol Hill to the DC mayor's office. The future of the traditional luncheon in Statuary Hall is up in the air, and it's unlikely a choir behind the new President will be feasible.
The expectation is the inauguration will be smaller, too, and attendees will have to wear masks and maintain social distance within the ticketed parameters.
The congressional committee tasked with choreographing the festivities at the Capitol has tried to map out plans for a range of scenarios with consultation from medical experts, aides say.
The committee has been in an awkward limbo since Election Day, as Trump's refusal to accept his loss mounted. While unable to dive-in exclusively with Biden's team, the committee has spent the last several months making plans for whoever won the election. Aides maintained neutrality in recent weeks as Trump's denial dragged on, communicating with both his and Biden's teams as to what the options could be for Jan. 20.
Georgia's Fulton County will resume recount this morning after server crash
From CNN's Jason Morris
Georgia's Fulton County is expected to resume its presidential recount today after experiencing delays on Sunday due to a machine server crash.
In a statement from Fulton County Registration and Elections, a newly purchased Dominion mobile server crashed. Technicians from Dominion were dispatched to resolve the issue, the county said. However, it is unclear at this time whether those issues have been fixed.
Fulton County officials says they are working to ensure the recount is done by the deadline "with the greatest efficiency and accuracy as possible."
The county says 88% of the ballots have been counted. This includes all absentee, early in person and provisional ballots, the statement said.
The deadline for all votes to be counted statewide is Wednesday at midnight.
Remember: Georgia conducted another recount of its presidential ballots following a Trump campaign request. President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner Nov. 20 when the state certified the results. Because the margin was still less than 0.5%, the President could request a recount after certification of the results.
Georgia had already conducted an audit of the presidential ballots, meaning all ballots in the presidential race were counted a second time — which was a defacto recount.
8:59 a.m. ET, November 30, 2020
Biden unveils senior leadership team charged with planning inauguration
From CNN’s Sarah Mucha
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris just announced the senior leadership of the committee charged with planning and executing what will be an unprecedented presidential inauguration set to take place during a global pandemic.
Here's who Biden selected:
Tony Allen, who worked in the past as Biden’s speechwriter when he was a senator, will take the helm as chief executive officer. Allen, who the inauguration team says will serve in his personal capacity, is currently the president of Delaware State University, an historically black colleges and universities (HBCU).
Maju Varghese will serve as executive director. Varghese was chief operating officer and senior advisor on Biden’s campaign beginning in the primaries.
Erin Wilson and Yvanna Cancela will both serve as deputy executive directors. Wilson comes to the position with experience serving on Biden’s campaign as the national political director throughout the primary and general election. Cancela, a Nevada state senator, voiced her support for Biden early in the presidential race and remained a constant presence at his campaign events in the caucus state throughout the election.
According to CNN's reporting on Inauguration Day plans, the expectation is the event will be smaller and attendees will have to wear masks and maintain social distance within the ticketed parameters.
8:46 a.m. ET, November 30, 2020
As Biden continues to fill in his Cabinet, the Pentagon and CIA still loom
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny
President-elect Joe Biden delivers a Thanksgiving address at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 25. Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden will enter the month of December tomorrow with a question still looming over one of the most critical decisions in his Cabinet: Who will he nominate as secretary of defense?
Three candidates are in final contention to lead the Department of Defense, people familiar with the matter tell CNN, with Michèle A. Flournoy, Jeh Johnson and Lloyd Austin all still being considered.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and decorated combat veteran, is no longer getting a serious look, people familiar with the matter say, given Biden’s reluctance to create any vacancies in the Senate.
Flournoy, a veteran Pentagon official, was once widely considered a lock for the position and is still very much in the mix, people familiar with the matter say, but her exclusion from a flurry of barrier-breaking selections in the first wave of Cabinet picks underscored the uncertainty surrounding her.
Johnson served as general counsel at the Pentagon as well as Secretary of Homeland Security. Austin, a retired Army general who led Central Command during the Obama era, would need a Congressional waiver to be confirmed for the civilian post because he retired from active-duty service only four years ago.
Johnson and Austin, who are African-American, would be history-making nominees as the first Black Secretary of Defense. So, too, would Flournoy, as the first woman to run the Pentagon.
The announcement is still expected soon – perhaps later this week or next – but the exact timing is contingent on a final decision that as of late Sunday evening had not been reached, people familiar with the matter say.
The Pentagon opening is not, of course, happening in a vacuum.
Biden is also still searching for someone to lead the Central Intelligence Agency – and Johnson is also believed to be at least under consideration for that post, people familiar with the matter say.
Sue Gordon, a former principal deputy Director of National Intelligence, is among the contenders to lead CIA, people familiar with the matter say, as is Vincent Stewart, a former leader of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Marine general. He, too, would require a congressional waiver to serve in the civilian post.
Tom Donilon, a former national security adviser to President Obama who had been among the top contenders to lead the CIA, is no longer under consideration for that post, CNN reported Sunday.
A transition official said the announcements for Pentagon and CIA would be made when Biden reaches his decisions, dismissing any suggestions of a delay. Yet both posts, in addition to others in the Cabinet, are expected in December.
8:53 a.m. ET, November 30, 2020
Birx hopes to begin briefing the Biden administration on coronavirus today
From CNN's Naomi Thomas
Dr. Deborah Birx speaks during a coronavirus briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services on June 26. Erin Scott/Bloomberg/Getty Images
“I hope on Monday,” Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force told CBS’s Margaret Brennan when asked when they would start briefing the Biden administration.
“Because what’s really critical is we’ve spent that last nine months really developing sophisticated databases that are bringing together information from across the country down to the county level. We can see who’s being admitted, we can see who’s getting sick, we can see where this virus is moving in communities,” she said on Face the Nation on Sunday.
Birx added that the one thing that will be brought up to the Biden administration in that discussion is how they want to see the data.
“Data isn’t helpful is it’s not actionable, and each group needs to see it the way it makes them, moves to action,” she said. “That’s why we write the governors report weekly to really ensure every governor understand what we’re seeing and what we think needs to be done.”
9:06 a.m. ET, November 30, 2020
Biden will receive his first president's daily intelligence brief today. Here are key things to know.
From CNN's Nicole Gaouette, Alex Marquardt and Vivian Salama
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris hold a news conference on November 16 in Wilmington, Delaware. Andrew Harnik/AP
President-elect Joe Biden marks a milestone on his path to the White House today when he gets his first President's Daily Brief — the intelligence community's collection of secrets, intelligence, and analysis about long- and short-term threats US leaders need to know to run the country and keep it safe.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will get the same briefing on Monday with Biden, the transition team said Wednesday, ending the strange situation where she, as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had access to more classified intelligence than the President-elect.
Here are key things to know about the classified intelligence briefing:
The PDB, as it's known, is prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the President, vice president and senior advisers.
The PDB contains the daily collection of analysis and information that the intelligence community believes the President and his most senior national security staff need to start the day — it's been called the newspaper with the world's smallest circulation.
The intelligence briefers come in during the middle of the night to prepare for their early morning sessions with these senior customers — studying the PDB material, reviewing raw intelligence and other finished analytic products, and asking experts questions that they anticipate getting during their sessions.
The PDB is often tailored to the President currently in office. President George W. Bush preferred being briefed orally by his top intelligence aides while President Barack Obama often read through his on a secure tablet. President Trump often received his in late-morning sessions with career intelligence officials, though at times it disappeared from his schedule altogether.
Receiving a classified intelligence briefing is typically one of the first rights of a presidential candidate after winning the election.
Trump, who has refused to concede the election, relented only last week on his initial refusal to allow Biden access to the nation's most vital intelligence — a tradition based on US national security interests to ensure the election's winner and their incoming team are as ready as possible to cope with global threats and challenges.
In 2016, Trump received his first PDB, as it is known, a week after the election.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Zachary Cohen contributed reporting to this post.
8:42 a.m. ET, November 30, 2020
Biden is expected to formally name key members of his economic team today
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny
President-elect Joe Biden holds a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 24. Mark Makela/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden is set to formally name key members of his economic team on Monday, with the long-expected announcement of Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, CNN has learned, along with two other women in top roles on a diverse team that will help him navigate the nation's punishing fiscal headwinds in hopes of building an economic recovery.
He is expected to name Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget, two people familiar with the appointment said, elevating Tanden, the CEO and president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress, into the top ranks of his administration.
He's poised to name Cecilia Rouse, a Princeton economist, to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, which would put another Black woman in a high-profile role of Biden's top advisers. Rouse served on the council during the Obama administration.
Among the barrier-breaking nominees Biden is announcing is Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo, president of the Obama Foundation in Chicago, for deputy Treasury Secretary, serving under Yellen. If confirmed, he would be the first Black deputy Treasury Secretary. Yellen, if confirmed, would be the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary.
Adeyemo served on the National Economic Council of the Obama administration and last fall was named as the first president of the Obama Foundation.
The announcements are expected to be made Monday in a statement, officials said, with the team set to be formally introduced by Biden during an event Tuesday at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
