WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local): 5:10 p.m. Georgia’s secretary of state is firing back at the state’s two U.S. senators for calling on him to resign over the handling of the election, which has President-elect Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump in the state. Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue took the extraordinary step Monday of calling for Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to step down. Raffensperger responded, “Let me start by saying that is not going to happen. The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire me.” He says while he understands their frustration with the outcome of the election — which also saw Loeffler and Perdue forced into runoffs — the way the election was handled was a success. Raffensperger says, “As a Republican, I am concerned about Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate. I recommend that Senators Loeffler and Perdue start focusing on that.” The Associated Press hasn’t yet called a winner in Georgia’s presidential election. The state hasn’t gone to a Democratic presidential candidate since 1992. ___ HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN’S TRANSITION TO THE WHITE HOUSE: President-elect Joe Biden is cheering news about the promising development of a coronavirus vaccine but cautioning Americans need to be aggressive about mask wearing and social distancing. Read more: Trump faces calls to work with Biden team on transition — Members of President-elect Biden’s coronavirus task force — Referendum on Trump shatters turnout records — For Biden, how to help mangled economy is next obstacle ___ HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON: 4:30 p.m. Some Republicans are renewing their attacks on President-elect Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia, with Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler taking the extraordinary step of calling for the resignation of the Republican secretary of state. Republicans laid out a strategy to investigate but still presented no evidence of large-scale voter fraud in the balloting, saying Monday that they were still looking into ways to overturn Biden’s lead of more than 10,000 votes in Georgia. Georgia is one front in a nationwide scramble by Trump forces to question his national defeat. The Associated Press has not yet called the race for Georgia’s 16 electoral votes. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office is defending the conduct of the elections, saying that while there may be scattered illegal votes, officials are very confident in the overall outcome. Loeffler and Perdue, who face a pair of Jan.5 runoffs against Democrats that will determine control of the Senate, blamed Raffensperger for “mismanagement and lack of transparency.” ___ 2:20 p.m. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is congratulating President-elect Joe Biden on an “apparent victory” but adding that President Donald Trump should be afforded the chance to challenge the results. Collins won reelection last week over Democrat Sara Gideon. She asked voters who have questions about the results of the presidential election to be patient. “First, I would offer my congratulations to President-elect Biden on his apparent victory – he loves this country, and I wish him every success,” Collins said in a statement. “Presidential transitions are important, and the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect should be given every opportunity to ensure that they are ready to govern on January 20th.” Collins added that Trump’s desire to challenge the results should be handled in accordance with existing laws. Trump has so far refused to concede to Biden. She says, “I understand that the president and others have questions about the results in certain states. There is a process in place to challenge those results and, consistent with that process, the president should be afforded the opportunity to do so.” ___ 1:55 p.m. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says it would like to see a major infrastructure bill as the first order of business for a Biden-Harris administration and a new Congress in 2021. The powerful business lobby group had teamed up with the AFL-CIO and other groups during Donald Trump’s presidency to push for significant new investments in roads, bridges and broadband but could not get legislation over the finish line. How to pay for such investment remains a huge stumbling block. Neil Bradley, an executive vice president at the business group, says the chamber will continue to push the Trump administration and Congress to get an economic relief bill passed before the end of the year to help businesses survive during the coronavirus pandemic. He says the economic recovery is “uneven across industries and across communities, and we have to focus on those who will be the last to recover from this pandemic induced recession.
