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By Meg Wagner and Melissa Macaya, CNN

Updated 8:07 p.m. ET, December 10, 2020

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12:24 p.m. ET, December 10, 2020

Senior Texas Republican calls state's lawsuit challenging election "a distraction"

From CNN's Manu Raju, Sarah Fortinsky, Ariane de Vogue and Dan Berman

Rep. Kay Granger speaks during a news conference on July 21. Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Rep. Kay Granger, a veteran Texas Republican, said Thursday she is not supportive of her state’s lawsuit challenging the presidential election results in key battleground states, joining her state’s senior GOP senator who expressed skepticism over the effort.

“I'm not supporting it,” Granger told CNN of the lawsuit. “I'm just concerned with the process.”

Asked to elaborate, Granger said, “I don't think it's going to go anywhere, and ... it's a distraction.”

Granger joins Texas Sen. John Cornyn who was deeply skeptical about the lawsuit when asked about it by CNN Wednesday night.

"I frankly struggle to understand the legal theory of it,” Cornyn said, adding he’s “not convinced” one state can sue to stop other states’ election results.

The lawsuit has split the delegation as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told President Trump he would argue the case if the Supreme Court decides to hear it.

Granger has been uneasy about Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, telling CNN last month: “I have great concerns about it,” she said. “I think that it's time to move on.”

More on the lawsuit: Although all 50 states have certified their election results and the Supreme Court swiftly rejected an emergency request from Pennsylvania Republicans to block election results in the commonwealth, the justices are now grappling with a new controversial bid from Texas, supported by Trump and 17 other Republican-led states.

They are asking the Supreme Court for an emergency order to invalidate the ballots of millions of voters in four battleground states — Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — even though there is no evidence of widespread fraud.

3:00 p.m. ET, December 10, 2020

What you need to know about the election-related Supreme Court lawsuit from Texas and Trump

From CNN's Ariane de Vogue and Dan Berman

The US Supreme Court building is seen on December 7. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Although all 50 states have certified their election results and the Supreme Court swiftly rejected an emergency request from Pennsylvania Republicans to block election results in the commonwealth, the justices are now grappling with a new controversial bid from Texas, supported by President Trump and 17 other Republican-led states.

Critics of the President and his allies say the case reflects an audacious and legally dubious gambit to keep the lawsuits flowing in order to prolong baseless claims that President-elect Joe Biden's victory was somehow illegitimate.

Here's what you need to know:

Who is suing? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit Tuesday. The President on Wednesday filed a motion to intervene — basically a request to join the lawsuit, asking for the same result. Seventeen GOP states are backing the effort as well.
What do the Republicans want? Essentially, to swing the election to Trump. They're asking for the court to block the electors from Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, pushing Biden back under the magic 270-vote total to win. First the court would have to allow Paxton to file the suit. Then the court would have to block certification of the Electoral College vote, determine that the four states had allowed massive amounts of "illegal" votes, have the states revisit their vote counts and then resubmit the numbers. The court could also, Trump's filing suggests, let state legislatures determine who wins each state or throw the entire election to the US House of Representatives, where each state delegation would have one vote -- and since Republican delegations outnumber Democratic delegations, Trump would win.
Is there any precedent? No. "In a nutshell the President is asking the Supreme Court to exercise its rarest form of jurisdiction to effectively overturn the entire presidential election," said Steve Vladeck, a CNN Supreme Court analyst and University of Texas Law School professor.
The Supreme Court has 6 conservatives. Does that guarantee Trump will win? No. The court has thus far shown no desire to intervene in the presidential election. On Tuesday, it rejected the plea from Pennsylvania Republicans to invalidate the state's presidential tallies. It issued one sentence and noted zero dissents. (Justices don't always have to make their votes public.) Trump has suggested publicly that he hopes his nominees -- Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch -- will side with him on any election dispute. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are also ones to watch. No justice is required to recuse him or herself from the dispute; Barrett, notably, did not recuse herself in the Pennsylvania lawsuit.

Biden to pick Susan Rice to lead White House Domestic Policy Council

From CNN's Dan Merica and Arlette Saenz

Then-Vice President Joe Biden and then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice speak together during a press briefing in the Oval Office of the White House in 2015. Mike Theiler/Pool/Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden will tap former National Security Adviser Susan Rice to lead the White House Domestic Policy Council, according to two sources familiar with the decision.

Politico was the first to report the decision.

10:10 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020

Biden to tap longtime Obama adviser to lead Veterans Affairs

From Jake Tapper and Jeff Zeleny

Denis McDonough speaks during the 2018 Concordia Annual Summit in New York. Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

President-elect Joe Biden is poised to tap Denis McDonough to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, a person familiar with the decision says, adding a longtime chief of staff to former President Barack Obama to his new Cabinet.

It’s the latest example of how Biden is turning to a trusted set of advisers to surround him in his new administration.

As VA Secretary, McDonough would be inheriting one of the most challenging agencies in the government, so Biden was looking “for a seasoned hand, who knows the government well,” a person familiar with the decision says.

Several veterans groups were hoping Biden would chose a veteran of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. McDonough did not serve in the military, but rather has long experience navigating bureaucracies on Capitol Hill and the White House.

McDonough, a native of Minnesota who served as the chief of staff during Obama’s entire second term, also worked as deputy national security adviser. He developed a close relationship with Vice President Biden during both positions.

He is a devout Catholic, a bond he also shares with Biden.

The announcement of McDonough is forthcoming. He could join other prospective Cabinet nominees on Friday in Wilmington, but timing is still not confirmed.

Politico was first to report the McDonough selection.

10:30 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020

Biden will travel to Georgia next week to campaign for Democratic candidates ahead of crucial runoff election

From CNN's Jessica Dean, Ryan Nobles and DJ Judd

Joe Biden waves to supporters as he finishes speaking during a drive-in campaign rally in Atlanta on October 27. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden will travel to Atlanta next Tuesday, Dec. 15 to campaign for Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock ahead of the crucial Jan. 5 runoffs that will determine which party controls the Senate.

Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler — the Republican candidates in the Georgia runoff campaign — have enjoyed the benefit of high profile surrogates making non-stop regular appearances since almost the beginning of the campaign.

In addition to President Trump’s visit last Saturday and a promise to return, the GOP ticket has also benefited from Vice President Mike Pence who has already made one trip and will be back in the Peach State today. Trump and Pence join a long list of prominent Republicans who have come to Georgia.

The Democratic approach to surrogates has been much different. In general, the campaigns of Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have taken much greater pains to prevent the spread of coronavirus than their Republican counterparts which limits the value of surrogates to travel to the state.

Democrats have been taking advantage of virtual campaign tactics. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Elizabeth Warren both held virtual fundraisers to support the Georgia campaigns.

President Barack Obama held a virtual rally with the two candidates. The campaign says it was watched by more than a half a million people and led to the recruitment of 14,000 volunteers.

9:34 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020

Biden's transition team will meet with Operation Warp Speed today and tomorrow

From CNN's Arlette Saenz

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team will meet with Operation Warp Speed today and Friday, a transition official says. The official would not detail who would participate in these meetings from the Biden side.

The meetings come after the president-elect last week said he has not seen a “detailed plan” from the Trump administration about how a vaccine would be distributed to people.

Asked whether President-elect Biden would consider using the Defense Production Act to acquire vaccines if needed, a transition official punted, saying "We are continuing to work with the Operation Warp Speed team and our focus will be ensuring safe and effective vaccines are available to all Americans and around the world, and we'll likely have additional details to share in the coming weeks and months.”

The US FDA has not yet approved a coronavirus vaccine. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is meeting today to discuss Pfizer’s application for an emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine.

The US meanwhile continues to break grim records. December has already proved devastating. Wednesday recorded more than 3,100 Covid-19 deaths — the highest daily death toll ever since the pandemic's start, beating a record set just days ago.

10:30 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020

Biden is yet to fill the key Cabinet spot of attorney general. These are his top contenders.

From CNN's Jeff Zeleny and Evan Perez

As President-elect Joe Biden formally introduced his defense secretary nominee Wednesday, the role of attorney general remains the biggest outstanding position in the Cabinet yet to be named.

Three leading contenders for the post are: Sen. Doug Jones, Judge Merrick Garland and Sally Yates, people familiar with the matter say, after Jeh Johnson informed allies late Tuesday he would not be serving in the Biden administration.

Here are key things to know about the contenders:

Jones: The Alabama senator who lost his race in November, is seen as the leading candidate to run the Department of Justice, people close to the matter say, particularly given his long-standing friendship with Biden and his strong civil rights record. He also fits a pattern developing among several key Cabinet nominees: Biden is turning to people with whom he has strong relationships, are seen as competent and could face an easier road to confirmation."All signs point to Doug Jones," a person close to the Biden transition tells CNN, but noted that Biden had not informed candidates of his final decision.
Garland: The judge has also been under consideration for weeks. Some people close to the process say his candidacy has become more serious over the last week and he remains an option. Yet his nomination also faces more challenges than Jones, including a more complicated confirmation battle, the vacancy it would create on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and questions from civil rights groups. Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the final year of the Obama administration
Yates: A former deputy attorney general, would also likely face a more difficult confirmation than Jones. As a 30-year career official at Justice, it's also an open question whether she is best suited to lead the department in the post-Trump era. During her time as deputy attorney general, she stood by while then-FBI Director James Comey, who reported directly to her, repeatedly violated Justice Department policy in handling the Hillary Clinton email probe.

CNN has previously reported that Lisa Monaco, a former Homeland Security adviser in the Obama White House who worked closely with Biden on his vice presidential search, is also under consideration for the attorney general post. Deval Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor and former civil rights chief at the Justice Department, was also being considered.

A Biden transition official said a decision had not yet been made and a formal announcement is not expected this week.

Biden continues to build out his Cabinet. Here's what you need to know about his nominees.

From CNN's Kate Sullivan

President-elect Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet announcement event in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 24. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden has moved swiftly to build out his administration since his election last month, and has named several people to top roles in his Cabinet and other key posts.

Several of Biden's picks would make history if confirmed by the United States Senate as the first woman or person of color to serve in their role. Many also have decades of experience in their field and served in President Barack Obama's administration.

Here are key things to know about some of Biden's nominees, who will all need Senate confirmation:

Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense

Austin would make history as the first Black person to lead the Pentagon if confirmed by the Senate.
Austin is a retired Army general and is the former commander of the US Central Command.
He has worked closely with Biden in the past. While Biden was vice president, Austin served as the vice chief of staff of the Army and commanding general of US forces in Iraq, and later the commander of CENTCOM. Biden and Austin had discussions on a range of issues, including those in the Middle East and Central and South Asia.
Austin would need a congressional waiver to be confirmed for the civilian post because federal law requires seven years of retirement from active duty before taking on the role. Austin retired from active-duty service only four years ago.

Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services

Becerra would be the first Latino to lead the Department of Health and Human Services if confirmed by the Senate.
He currently serves as California's attorney general, and is the first Latino to hold that office in the history of the state.
Becerra has been a chief defender of the Affordable Care Act in court. As the Trump administration and a coalition of Republican state attorneys general fight to invalidate the landmark health reform law, Becerra has led a group of Democratic attorneys general arguing why the law remains valid.
Becerra served 12 terms in Congress as a member of the US House of Representatives and held several leadership posts. He was the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the ranking member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security. He was also the first Latino to serve as a member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Becerra also served one term in the California Legislature and is a former deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice.

Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary

Yellen would make history as the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary if confirmed by the Senate.
Yellen already made history as the first woman to have chaired the Federal Reserve, serving from 2014 to 2018. She previously served for four years as the vice chair of the board, and president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for four years prior to that.
Yellen was also chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 1997 to 1999.

Read more about the other nominees here.