“I’m proud to announce we have finished naming our Cabinet members, saving the best for last,” Biden said while announcing his economic team in Wilmington, Del. “This Cabinet, that I promised you and I’ve fulfilled that promise, looks like America.”
Biden touted Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo
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The president-elect noted that as governor she created a program to help minority-owned and women-owned businesses access capital, worked with employers to design skills-training programs and put Rhode Island on the path to achieving 100 percent renewable energy.
“She knows what her fellow governors, Democrats and Republicans alike, are dealing with,” Biden said.
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Trump announced earlier on Friday that he would not be at Biden’s swearing-in ceremony later this month, breaking from the tradition of outgoing presidents attending their successors’ inaugurations.
Vice President Pence is expected to attend Biden’s inauguration.
Trump’s decision to stay away from the ceremony on Jan. 20 comes as he faces one of the deepest crises of his presidency. A mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as Congress met to certify last month’s Electoral College vote, disrupting the process and forcing lawmakers, congressional staffers and others to evacuate the building.
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The group, many of whom were filming the incident, appeared to be Trump supporters who believe conspiracy theories about the election. Trump has claimed for weeks that the election was rigged, despite losing dozens of legal challenges and election experts dismissing claims of fraud.
At one point members of the group yell audit the vote and you know it was rigged, in reference to the presidential election, and call him a piece of shit.
Lindsey Graham just made the mistake walking by me and a mass of angry patriots at the airport in DC.
All America wants is for you to AUDIT OUR VOTE and purge this election of this massive corruption.and you won’t do it. We’re not letting this “slide” so expect more of this. pic.twitter.com/pbemr2Gcr9 Mindy Robinson (@iheartmindy) January 8, 2021
In a letter to colleagues reflecting on the week when pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol, Pelosi outlined a call with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley
“This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike,” she wrote. “The situation of this unhinged president could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy.”
ADVERTISEMENT Our meeting was very productive, and we will continue to work together on behalf of America throughout the transition, Pompeo added.
The meeting comes one day after Trump said in a recorded video message that he would ensure a smooth transition to the Biden administration after weeks of refusing to concede the election to Biden and calling to overturn the results.
His comments came more than 24 hours after a deadly mob attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, who succeeded in temporarily disrupting congressional certification of Biden s election victory.
Trump has been widely condemned for inciting the riot after weeks of making unsubstantiated claims about a rigged election and widespread voter fraud.