Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Dec 19, 2020, 11:09 AM EST
Biden to introduce key members of climate, energy team
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will introduce key nominees and appointees for their climate and energy team Saturday in Wilmington, Delaware.
The nominees and appointees attending the event will include secretary of interior nominee Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M.; secretary of energy nominee former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm; E.P.A. administrator nominee Michael Regan; Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality nominee Brenda Mallory; national climate adviser appointee Gina McCarthy and deputy national climate adviser Ali Zaidi.
Dec 18, 2020, 5:18 PM EST
McCarthy dodges question on challenging Electoral College vote
Asked whether he will join with other House Republicans to formally object to the certification of the Electoral College results on Jan. 6, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., laughed and told reporters, "We'll watch and see," per the pool reporter on Capitol Hill.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy speaks at the weekly news conference on Capitol Hill on Dec. 03, 2020, in Washington.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
McCarthy hasn't formally taken a position on the long-shot effort, which still lacks Senate Republican support needed to force debate and vote on the results of the election, nor has he recognized Biden as the president-elect.
The Electoral College affirmed Biden's victory on Monday without any faithless electors. Trump won 232 electoral votes to Biden's 306.
-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel
Dec 18, 2020, 4:47 PM EST
White House doesn't give timeline for Trump to receive vaccine
White House deputy press secretary Brian Morgenstern told reporters Friday that the president remains willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine when the time is right, while noting that Trump has already been infected with the virus.
When asked directly if there are concerns about him being vaccinated too close to receiving the monoclonal antibody cocktail, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends waiting 90 days between the two, Morgenstern said, "I don't know about concerns." But he added Trump is "perfectly willing to get it, and if the advice is that it is fine -- it will be effective if he takes it sooner rather than later -- he'll do that."
White House Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern speaks with members of the press outside the White House, Oct 7, 2020.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
The response comes ahead of Biden being slated to receive the first dose of Pfizer's vaccine on Monday and following Vice President Mike Pence's public vaccination Friday morning.
Morgenstern was also asked to explain why the public has not heard from Trump all week.
"There's a lot of work that goes on that isn't necessarily public, but he is hard at work, and when it's the appropriate time for him to come speak publicly, of course that's his right, his prerogative to do," he said. "But at this point the administration continues to work very hard behind the scenes, and to the extent we have to speak publicly we do that. But the work is being done whether or not he's coming in front of you."
-ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas
Dec 18, 2020, 6:04 PM EST
Biden transition says pause in DoD briefings was not 'mutually agreed upon'
The Biden transition team is pushing back on Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller's statement earlier Friday that there was a "mutually agreed upon holiday break" between the Pentagon and Biden officials, stressing the Biden team felt it was important to keep conversations going over the holiday.
Miller had denied reporting earlier in the day that there had been a halt to transition meetings with the Biden team, saying, "After the mutually-agreed upon holiday pause, which begins tomorrow, we will continue with the transition and rescheduled meetings from today."
This March 27, 2008 file photo shows the Pentagon in Washington.
However, the Biden transition disputed Miller's claim on a call briefing reporters Friday afternoon.
"Let me be clear: There was no mutually agreed upon holiday break. In fact, we think it's important that briefings and other engagements continue during this period, as there's no time to spare, and that's particularly true in the aftermath of the ascertainment delay," said transition official Yohannes Abraham.
Abraham added it was the team's expectation that meetings would continue "immediately."
Biden's team did not answer when asked if Miller was lying in his statement, instead saying the press could make its own judgments based on the information provided.
