Trump-Biden transition: Attorney Sidney Powell back at White House Sunday

Powell has pushed Trump to issue an executive order to seize voting machines.

Last Updated: December 21, 2020, 10:34 AM EST

President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 31 days.

Dec 15, 2020, 10:52 AM EST

Trump retweets attorney who said Georgia officials are ‘going to jail’ without citing evidence of a crime

Trump has retweeted conservative attorney Lin Wood, who slammed Georgia Gov. Brain Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Twitter Tuesday saying, without citing evidence of a crime, that they’re "going to jail."

“President Trump @realDonaldTrump is a genuinely good man. He does not really like to fire people. I bet he dislikes putting people in jail, especially ‘Republicans.’ He gave @BrianKempGA & @GaSecofState every chance to get it right. They refused. They will soon be going to jail," Wood said in the tweet Trump retweeted to his 88 million followers.

President Donald Trump looks on during a ceremony presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to wrestler Dan Gable at the White House, Dec. 7, 2020.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Kemp and Raffensperger have both said they are strong supporters of the president and voted for him, but they’ve upheld the integrity of their state's election and have seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

An apparently altered photo of the two officials wearing face masks bearing the flag of China accompanied the tweets. 

It’s unclear why Wood believes Trump has the authority to put the two Republicans officials in jail as he suggested. Wood, along with fellow pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell, filed a lawsuit earlier this month seeking to stop the certification of the state vote and naming Kemp, Raffensperger and other Georgia election officials. The suit has since been dismissed.

Dec 15, 2020, 10:24 AM EST

McConnell congratulates Biden for first time

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in Congress, acknowledged Biden’s win for the first time from the Senate floor Tuesday morning after weeks of holding out. 

"Our country has officially a president-elect and a vice-president elect," McConnell said. "The Electoral College has spoken, so today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden."

McConnell also congratulated Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on historic nature of her win.

His acknowledgement comes one day after the Electoral College cemented Biden’s victory. Now that McConnell has accepted the incoming adminstration, it’s expected other Congressional Republicans will fall in line. 

Before McConnell took the floor, Senate Chaplain Barry Black opened Tuesday’s session by saying the Electoral College decision has been accepted and callings for blessings in his opening prayer on "President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris."

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Dec 15, 2020, 9:58 AM EST

Overview: Biden heads to Georgia to campaign in Senate runoffs

Fresh off the Electoral College affirming his win, Biden is returning to the campaign trail Tuesday to stump for Georgia's Senate runoffs and the promise he could pass the big ticket legislation through Congress he's hoping for -- as the balance of power in the incoming Senate hangs on two seats there.

Biden is slated to speak at an afternoon, drive-in rally in Atlanta for Democratic Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, challengers to sitting GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue in the Jan. 5 runoff. Early voting kicked off in Georgia Monday.

Lillian Roberts wears a face mask reading 'Let my people vote' while waiting in line to cast her ballot in the U.S. Senate runoff elections on the first day of early voting in Atlanta, Dec. 14, 2020.
Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters

After the Electoral College officially cemented his victory Monday, Biden delivered his strongest rebuke of Trump and his ongoing challenges to the election’s outcome in a primetime address, calling on the country to move on and noting that Trump hasn't been able to prove the allegations of fraud he's made.

“The integrity of our elections remains intact. And now it is time to turn the page, as we’ve done throughout our history. To unite. To heal," Biden said.

The pressure is now on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to do just that as he's yet to publicly acknowledge Biden's win even as some Senate Republicans -- and Russian President Vladimir Putin -- have done so since the Electoral College vote.

PHOTO: President-elect Joe Biden delivers a televised address to the nation, after the Electoral College formally confirmed his victory over President Donald Trump  in Wilmington, Del., Dec. 14, 2020.
President-elect Joe Biden delivers a televised address to the nation, after the Electoral College formally confirmed his victory over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, from Biden's transition headquarters in Wilmington, Del., Dec. 14, 2020.
Mike Segar/Reuters

Trump has no public events on his schedule Tuesday -- refusing to acknowledge both his election loss and the country's worsening death toll from the coronavirus pandemic -- but continues to air his grievances with the election and a litany of false claims on Twitter.

The president also announced on Twitter Monday Attorney General William Barr is resigning from the administration before Christmas -- with only a month left to go.

Dec 15, 2020, 10:29 AM EST

Putin congratulates Biden on winning election

After weeks of holding out, Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Biden on winning the presidential election following Monday's Electoral College voting affirming Biden's win.

According to the Kremlin in a statement released Tuesday, "Vladimir Putin wished the president-elect every success and expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which bear special responsibility for global security and stability, can, despite their differences, effectively contribute to solving many problems and meeting challenges that the world is facing today."

"For my part, I am ready for interaction and contact with you," Putin added, according to the Kremlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

While Putin has now congratulated the president-elect on his victory, Republican leadership in Congress still has not -- at least not publicly.

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