Trump-Biden transition: Attorney Sidney Powell back at White House Sunday
Powell has pushed Trump to issue an executive order to seize voting machines.
President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 31 days.
Top headlines:
- Attorney Sidney Powell back at White House Sunday
- Gina McCarthy accepts nomination for first-ever national climate adviser
- Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality designate says she knows 'faces of the marginalized'
- Michael Regan says he will enact an 'environmental justice framework' as EPA head
- Energy secretary nominee Granholm says commitment to clean energy was 'forged in the fire'
- Rep. Deb Haaland accepts historic nomination as first Native American Cabinet secretary
Biden to receive COVID-19 vaccine next week
Biden and incoming first lady Jill Biden are slated to receive the first dose of the Pzifer coronavirus vaccine on Monday, transition officials announced on a call Friday.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and and her husband, Doug Emhoff, are expected to take it the week after.
The Biden transition team said "there was no change in the timing of the president-elect's vaccination," despite the fact that Rep. Cedric Richmond, one of Biden's top advisers, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
"On Monday, President Elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Delaware. And they'll also thank healthcare workers at the facility," said incoming White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
"Consistent with security and medical protocols, the Vice President will not receive the vaccine at the same time as the president. We expect she and Mr. Emhoff will receive their first dose of the vaccine the following week," she added.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Beatrice Peterson
Obama featured in 3 Georgia digital ads backing Rev. Raphael Warnock
The Warnock campaign released a trio of short digital ads in which former President Barack Obama urges voters to send Rev. Raphael Warnock to the Senate.
One of the ads, titled "Act", pays homage to the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis.
"John Lewis wrote that ‘Democracy is not a state. It is an act.’ Georgia, the time to act is now. Let’s send Raphael Warnock to the Senate to make progress for all of us," Obama says.
The move to invoke Lewis's legacy in association with Warnock serves as a politically savvy way to counter the Loeffler campaign, which has labeled him a "radical."
In another ad, Obama echoes the message delivered by Biden when he stumped for Democrats in Georgia, saying Warnock needs to be elected in order for the incoming president "to get things done."
The final ad captures a viral moment in which Obama was caught shooting a basket and casually joking, "That's what I do!"
"And voting? That’s something we do. If we want Joe Biden to succeed in tackling this virus and getting folks back to work, we need Raphael Warnock in the Senate," Obama says in the ad.
Early voting in Georgia for the Jan. 5 runoff races -- which will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate -- kicked off on Monday. Warnock is vying for Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler's seat.
-ABC News' Alisa Wierseman
Defense secretary pushes back on report Pentagon halted Biden transition meetings
Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller is pushing back on the Axios report that there’s been a halt to transition meetings between the Pentagon and the Biden team.
“At no time has the Department cancelled or declined any interview,” Miller said in a statement Friday. “After the mutually-agreed upon holiday pause, which begins tomorrow, we will continue with the transition and rescheduled meetings from today.”
Miller said the Defense Department has supported 139 interviews sessions with more than 250 officials, complied with 161 requests for information and disclosed thousands of pages of non-public and classified documents, "exceeding prior transitions."
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
Biden announces additional members of White House communications and press staff
Biden announced additional members of his White House communications and press shop on Friday, a slate of 16 names that include many people who served on the press team for his successful presidential campaign.
“Restoring faith in government by speaking honestly and directly to the American people will be a hallmark of my administration," Biden said in a statement announcing the hires.
-ABC News' John Verhovek