WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
What are the electoral vote results so far in the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden? How do US elections work? How high is the possibility of recounts?
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Together let’s watch history unfold – and make sense of all the chaos – in this election battle between Trump and Biden.
LATEST UPDATES
US Electoral College set to confirm Biden win as Trump fights on
Long a mere formality, a vote on Monday, December 14, by members of the Electoral College to formally recognize Joe Biden as the next US president has taken on unusual import this year with Donald Trump stubbornly refusing to admit defeat.
The results of the November 3 vote have been certified by each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia; the Democrat won with a record 81.3 million votes, or 51.3% of those cast, to 74.2 million, and 46.8%, for the Republican president.
Biden’s trade chief brings long experience on China
President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to head United States trade policy brings extensive experience in dealing with a key point of tension: China.
Attorney Katherine Tai, whom the president-elect announced this week would be his nominee as US Trade Representative (USTR), is also the rare political appointee who has the full-throated backing of business groups, politicians, and labor leaders alike.
Despite historic diversity, Biden faces pressure with cabinet picks
Aware that he owes his presidential victory to Black voters, Joe Biden pledged to name the “most diverse” cabinet in US history. Behind the scenes African Americans have been seeking to ensure he honors such commitments by appointing minorities to key positions.
“When this campaign was at its lowest ebb, the African-American community stood up again for me. You’ve always had my back, and I’ll have yours,” Biden assured in his victory speech on November 7, promising his administration would “look like America.”
Biden’s son Hunter says under investigation for tax affairs
Hunter Biden, the son of US President-elect Joe Biden and a frequent target of Republican attacks, said Wednesday, December 9, he was under federal investigation about his taxes.
The revelation about the probe included no details, but it promises to rekindle Republican rage about the Biden family, including Hunter Biden’s business dealings and the elder Biden’s anti-corruption push in Ukraine when he was US vice president.
“I learned yesterday for the first time that the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” Hunter Biden said in a statement released by his father’s presidential transition team.
Biden defends Pentagon pick Austin ahead of thorny confirmation
US President-elect Joe Biden defended his barrier-breaking pick for defense secretary Wednesday, December 9, before what could be a tough confirmation process, arguing that retired general Lloyd Austin will combine military experience and civilian oversight at the Pentagon.
At a press event in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden described Austin as “the definition of duty, honor, country” as he called on the Senate to make an exception to the law requiring any officer who heads the department be out of military service at least 7 years.
Supreme Court refuses to overturn Trump’s Pennsylvania loss
The US Supreme Court dealt the latest blow Tuesday, December 8, to Donald Trump’s effort to overturn his election loss when it denied his allies’ attempt to block the certification of votes in key state Pennsylvania.
The nation’s highest court, which includes 3 Trump-appointed justices out of 9, did not explain its decision, and none of the members expressed dissent.
Time running out on Trump bid to overturn election results
Humiliation in the courts, witnesses who provide more farce than facts and a chief lawyer battling coronavirus – Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the November 3 presidential election are not going well.
And time is running out.
The Electoral College is to meet on December 14 to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory and Tuesday, December 8, is the deadline for state-level challenges to be resolved.
Biden picks first Black Pentagon chief
Lloyd Austin, who led US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and rose to head the US Central Command, has been chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to be the first African-American secretary of defense, US media reported Monday, December 7.
A veteran of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the retired four-star army general, 67, beat out the favorite for the job, former under-secretary of defense Michele Flournoy, amid pressure on Biden to nominate more minorities for positions in his cabinet.
CNN, Politico, and the New York Times cited unnamed sources familiar with the decision, after Biden said earlier Monday that he had made his choice and would announce it on Friday. Austin would require Senate confirmation to take up the post.
China calls for new talks with US after Biden win
China’s top diplomat on Monday, December 7, called for the resumption of talks with the incoming US administration of president-elect Joe Biden, as relations between the world’s two largest economies continued to nosedive.
Beijing and Washington have locked horns over issues from trade and China’s human rights record to its expansionist ambitions in the South China Sea.
But speaking during a video call with the board of the US-China Business Council (USCBC) on Monday, foreign minister Wang Yi said “the two sides should work together.”
“We need to strive to restart the dialogue, get back on the right track, and rebuild mutual trust in the next phase of China-US relations,” he said, according to a readout of his remarks on the foreign ministry website.
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