USA TODAY'S coverage of the 2020 election continues this week as states prepare to finish certifying their vote counts after President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the hard-fought presidential race. President Donald Trump has yet to concede the race as Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris meet with transition advisers and prepare to take office in January.
Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the election and the transition.
Sen. Chuck Grassley to quarantine after COVID exposure
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19, he announced Tuesday.
"I learned today that I've been exposed to the coronavirus. I will follow my doctors' orders and immediately quarantine as I await my test results. I'm feeling well and not currently experiencing any symptoms, but it's important we all follow public health guidelines to keep each other healthy," said the senator, who is 87.
– Sean Rossman
Biden expected to fill key White House positions, reports say
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to announce several major White House staffing appointments on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg and the New York Times.
Some of those expected to be given top positions are Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon as deputy chief of staff and Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond as a senior official focused on outreach. Steve Ricchetti, a longtime political aide to the president-elect, is also expected to be part of the administration, the outlets reported.
The appointments are expected to be the first of many Biden makes in the coming weeks after naming Ron Klain as his chief of staff.
– Matthew Brown
Biden warns 'more people may die' from COVID without cooperation on transition
President-elect Joe Biden put the potential impact of the Trump administration's refusal to cooperate with his transition team in stark terms on Monday, saying "more people may die" if they are not able to coordinate on management of the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite insurmountable vote counts, the president has continued to refuse to concede the race, baselessly insisting the election was stolen, citing false claims about widespread voter fraud. Amid his legal challenges to the election results, his administration has not authorized funds needed to initiate the transition, shared the president's daily intelligence briefing with Biden or coordinated with Biden's coronavirus team.
Biden said formalizing the transition to his administration would help him pull together a serious and consistent plan for dealing with the pandemic while choosing his personnel and coordinating with business and labor officials.
“It would make it a lot easier if the president were to participate,” Biden said.
Biden said that while Monday's news of second successful vaccine in early trials was important, the important work of giving to more than 300 million Americans lay ahead, and a coordinated transition would speed that process along.
"Getting a vaccine and a vaccination are two different things,” Biden said. “The sooner we have access to the administration’s distribution plan, the sooner this transition would smoothly move forward."
– William Cummings and Bart Jansen
Trump is expected to order troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq
President Donald Trump intends to order the withdrawal of U.S. troops from war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to two administration sources.
The cuts would take effect by mid-January, according to the sources who were not authorized to speak publicly. Trump is scheduled to leave office on Jan. 20. President-elect Joe Biden would have the authority to reverse Trump’s order after he takes power.
There are about 4,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and a few thousand in Iraq. Trump has vowed to end what he has referred to as "endless wars" in those countries. The United States has had troops in Afghanistan since 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks, and in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
Under the plan, which the sources said is being finalized, there would be about 2,500 U.S. troops total in each country once the drawdown is completed.
Trump has reduced troop levels in both countries since taking office. However, officials at the Pentagon have pushed back on precipitous withdrawals, arguing that reductions should be based on security conditions in each country.
– David Jackson and Tom Vanden Brook
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election 2020 updates: Biden expected to announce key White House jobs