Trump campaign distances itself from attorney Sidney Powell: Transition updates

While Biden forges ahead and continues to build out his White House team, he remains hindered by the lack of a formal concession from Trump.

The Trump administration is still not recognizing Biden as the president-elect, and Biden warned Monday "more people may die" without a the process of a formal transition as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic on top of ongoing national security concerns. 

Taking matters into his own hands, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will receive a briefing on national security from security and defense advisers in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday, as they stress their work must begin now and not on Jan. 20. 

The briefing comes as Trump makes [geo-political moves not typical of a lame-duck commander-in-chief. Two officials confirmed to ABC News on Monday that orders were expected by the end of this week to reduce troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500 and in Iraq to 2,500 by mid-January.

Notably, Biden has said Harris is still getting briefings based on her role on the Senate Intelligence Committee, but it’s unclear how much she can pass on to Biden.

Pressing forward, Biden is also expected to name a number of senior White House staff as soon as this week, a group that will likely include Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., a key surrogate and his campaign's first national co-chair. Biden's campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon is expected to join the administration as deputy chief of staff, sources confirmed to ABC News.

While Trump has no public events on his schedule for Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence will lead a coronavirus task force meeting at the White House as the administration faces criticism on Trump’s apparent lack of interest in managing the virus. Trump hasn’t attended a task force meeting for months.

It all comes as state certification deadlines approach for the 2020 election, and the Trump campaign, working against those deadlines, also fights against the results which voted him out of office.

Biden is making clear that he wants Trump's help with the transition -- and is even warning that lives could be lost if he doesn't get it.

But Biden is signaling that he doesn't truly expect that help. He is acting in ways that say he doesn't really need it, much as it might boost his incoming presidency -- and maybe help the health of the nation.

The former vice president is outlining an agenda that actually starts before Jan. 20, with more stimulus spending now and mask mandates designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. He is setting up task forces and working groups along with a revamped West Wing staffing operation designed to adapt to the particular challenges of the moment.

"It would make it a lot easier," Biden said Monday, "if the president were to participate."

Biden remains among the more calm Democrats in official circles. He's letting his surrogates and lawyers do battle with sputtering legal efforts and a torrent of falsehoods about the election propagated by the president.

It's appropriate to ask Republican members of Congress to say that Trump should acknowledge the facts and help assure smooth governance. Democrats, of course, have strong opinions on the subject as well.

What's becoming clear, though, is that state authorities and ultimately the judicial branch will be forced to end scattered election disputes. Trump will still be president when that happens; in some states, finality might be just days away.

But by then, Biden's plan is to be well on his way to doing a job Trump isn't showing particular interest in at the moment.

-ABC News’ Political Director Rick Klein

The top General Services Administration official who's blocking Biden's transition team from accessing government resources ahead of his inauguration appears to be looking for a new job, according to a message obtained by ABC News.

Emily Murphy, head of the GSA who was appointed by Trump in 2017, recently sent that message to an associate inquiring about employment opportunities in 2021, a move that some in Washington interpreted as at least tacitly acknowledging that the current administration soon will be gone.

Murphy has the power to decide -- or "ascertain" -- when election results are evident enough to trigger a transition of power, allowing the winning team access to career staff at federal agencies and internal government information including national security matters and plans for administering a COVID-19 vaccine. She's so far refused to certify Biden as the election's winner as Trump attempts to overturn the election result in court.

A GSA spokesperson denied the account that Murphy was actively looking for a job, but noted that it wouldn't be unusual for someone in government, especially a political appointee, to consider future opportunities.

"The administrator remains focused on doing her job," the spokesperson added.

Click here to read more on the latest in the standoff between the Trump administration and Biden transition team. 

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Anne Flaherty and Benjamin Siegel

A second lawyer who was helping lead President Donald Trump's effort to contest the outcome of the 2020 election has asked to step aside, according to a new federal court filing.

Republican attorney Linda A. Kerns submitted papers with the U.S. District Court Monday saying she had "reached a mutual agreement that Plaintiffs will be best served" if she withdrew.

She was joined in the motion by two other attorneys -- colleagues who only recently signed on to the case with her.

Kerns is a veteran of election law battles in Pennsylvania and has written publicly about her desire to see voter ID laws passed to prevent election fraud.

She had served as the primary attorney on the central Trump campaign lawsuit in Pennsylvania challenging the election's outcome. It is not clear why she has asked to step aside.

Lawyers from Ohio firm of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur recently asked to withdraw from the federal lawsuit the Trump campaign filed in Pennsylvania to challenge the election results there.

-ABC News' Alex Hosenball