US president-elect Joe Biden had further meetings planned for yesterday to lay the groundwork for his new administration, while US President Donald Trump continues to pursue a flurry of lawsuits challenging the election results in an effort to cling to power.
Trump’s unsupported charges of election fraud have gained little traction so far.
His campaign on Tuesday said that it planned to file a lawsuit in Michigan to halt the state from certifying its results, a day after it brought a similar action in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Photo: Reuters
Judges so far have tossed lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia brought by Trump’s campaign, and legal experts say the litigation has little chance of changing the outcome of the election.
Trump on Tuesday suffered another possible setback when Democrats said that a postal worker who claimed he witnessed ballot tampering in Pennsylvania had recanted his allegations.
About 80 percent of Americans, including half of Republicans, say that Biden is the rightful winner, a Reuters and Ipsos Group SA poll found.
Biden planned to meet yesterday with advisers who are helping him prepare to take office on Jan. 20 next year.
He has tapped finance, trade and banking regulation experts for his transition team, who range from core Democrats to progressive activists, reflecting ongoing debate within the party about how to address climate change, wealth inequality and other issues.
Biden is also tapping people who crafted tougher environmental rules while part of former US president Barack Obama’s administration.
Biden secured the presidency on Saturday after television networks concluded he had won Pennsylvania and Nevada, giving him 279 Electoral College vote.
The outcome is still undecided in several states. Trump leads 50 percent to 48.7 percent in North Carolina, while Biden leads 49.5 percent to 49.2 percent in Georgia and 49.4 percent to 49.0 percent in Arizona, according to Edison Research.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has secured control of the US House of Representatives, after winning at least 218 seats, the Associated Press reported.
Democrats secured the majority after the AP declared three winners late on Tuesday: incumbents Kim Schrier in Washington, Tom O’Halleran in Arizona and Jimmy Gomez in California.
The 435-member chamber would now be controlled by the Democratic Party for another two years, but with a slimmer margin. The Democrats went into election day with a 232-197 House advantage, along with one independent and five open seats.
However, the Democrats fell short of their goal of taking a US Senate majority, making Republicans well positioned to block Biden’s major legislative initiatives.
His hopes of enacting major Democratic priorities, such as expanding healthcare access and fighting climate change now rely heavily on a pair of US Senate races in Georgia in January.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
China is trying to set a "red line" for the incoming Trump administration and US allies by stepping up military activities in the region, a senior Taiwan security official said, including likely war games this weekend around Taiwan. China has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan so far this year, and its forces operate nearby on a daily basis. The official confirmed concerns expressed by other security officials in the region who have previously told Reuters that China could launch new drills to coincide with Taiwan President William Lai's (賴清德) trip to the Pacific this week which included visits to
‘UNITED FRONT’: Beijing provides Internet ‘influencers’ with templates and directions, such as criticizing Taiwanese politicians, the rapper said Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) in a video showed how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bribes Taiwanese online influencers in its “united front” efforts to shape Taiwanese opinions. The video was made by YouTuber “Pa Chiung (八炯)” and published online on Friday. Chen in the video said that China’s United Front Work Department provided him with several templates and materials — such as making news statements — with some mentioning Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politician Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and asking him to write a song criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party. He said he had produced
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