Live politics updates: Trump pressures Georgia official to change vote totals in recorded call

William Cummings, USA TODAY

The year 2020 may now be behind us, but we aren't done with the 2020 election just yet.

This week, the newly-elected Congress is getting sworn in, two runoff elections in Georgia are coming up to determine control of the Senate, and President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory will be certified by Congress. Biden also still has a few Cabinet picks to announce – including his nominee for Attorney General – as he plans for his inauguration.

Here are the upcoming dates to watch:

  • Jan. 5: Senate runoff election in Georgia.

  • Jan. 6: Congress will count and certify the electoral results in a joint session.

  • Jan. 20: Inauguration of Biden, who will take the oath of office.

Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the transition.

Trump pressures Georgia official to change vote totals in recorded call

President Donald Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to flip the state's election result, in a recording of a phone call published Sunday by The Washington Post.

"The people of Georgia are angry, the people in the country are angry," Trump tells Raffensperger in the hourlong call, which took place Saturday, according to the Post. Citing unsubstantiated reports he "heard," Trump said the vote total should be changed.

“There’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated," Trump told Raffensperger.

"Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong," replied the Republican Georgia official.

Trump persisted in trying to cajole Raffensperger, telling him at one point, "All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state."

The president also warned Raffensperger and his general counsel that he thought theicertification of the result could be considered "criminal."

Earlier Sunday, Trump tweeted that he had spoken with Raffensperger "about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia." Trump said Raffensperger was "unwilling, or unable, to answer questions" about previously debunked voter fraud claims.

"Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out," Raffensperger replied.

– William Cummings

Perdue backs effort to object to Biden victory

David Perdue, who faces Democrat Jon Ossoff in Tuesday's Georgia Senate runoff election, won't be among the lawmakers meeting in a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, but he is urging them to object to the certification of the Nov. 3 election results.

Without citing specifics, Perdue claimed on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that there were "huge irregularities in Georgia" that "need to be investigated" and "need to be corrected." He said that, if he was able, he would join the dozen Republican senators and more than 100 GOP House members who are expected to challenge the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College defeat of President Donald Trump.

"I'm encouraging my colleagues to object," Perdue said. "This is something that the American people demand right now you."

With the closing of the 116th Congress, Perdue is no longer a sitting senator and will have to wait in a political limbo until the results of his runoff election against Ossoff are certified by the state of Georgia. If he loses, he won't return to the Senate – at least, not this term – and if he wins, it could take more than a week to get a final count of the vote in what is expected to be a close race.

Before Sunday, Perdue had not explicitly stated his position on the upcoming certification of the Electoral College result. Perdue and Kelly Loeffler – another Georgia Republican in the same Senate runoff limbo – have had to walk a fine line in the two months since the election on the question of whether widespread fraud occurred.

Perdue told Fox News, "I don't think I should be in this runoff if everything had happened the way it should have in November, but the only recourse we have is to get out and fight and rise up and vote." But when pressed on what was being done to prevent the alleged fraud from recurring Tuesday, Perdue did not cite anything that wasn't done ahead of Nov. 3.

On Friday, Trump said the November election in Georgia was "both illegal and invalid" because the same early voting practices were being followed for the runoffs. He added, "that would include the two current Senatorial Elections."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump pressures Georgia official to change vote in recorded call: Updates

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