Georgia upholds Biden’s win as Trump turns down offer of more coronavirus vaccine doses – live

Administration officials turned down an offer from Pfizer this summer to secure additional doses of its vaccine, the New Tork Times has reported.

The Times reports:

Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered in late summer to sell the U.S. government additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to people familiar with the matter. Now Pfizer may not be able provide more of its vaccine to the United States until next June because of its commitments to other countries, they said.

The US is expected to authorize the two-dose treatment from Pfizer and BioNTech this week and has bought up enough of the vaccine for 50m Americans. Meanwhile the European Union has secured 200m doses and Britan plans to begin vaccinations on Tuesday using the Pfizer treatment.

Donald Trump today signed an executive order designed to prioritize that vaccines get to “American citizens before sending it to other nations” but it’s unclear that the order would have any practical effect.

Read more from the Times here.

That’s it from me for now. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• Georgia recertified Joe Biden’s victory in the state, after two separate recounts confirmed the Democrat’s win there. Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, said this morning, “We have now counted legally-cast ballots three times, and the results remain unchanged.”
• The US is nearing 15m cases of coronavirus, as infections surge across the country after the Thanksgiving holiday. According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the US has reported 14,883,966 cases of coronavirus since January.
• Joe Biden’s team confirmed Xavier Becerra would be nominated to lead the department of health and human services. Former surgeon general Vivek Murthy will also be nominated to reprise his role under the Obama administration, and Dr Anthony Fauci will serve as Biden’s chief medical adviser, while staying on as the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
• The House will vote on a one-week spending bill on Wednesday, majority leader Steny Hoyer confirmed. If the legislation passes, it will allow the federal government to avert a shutdown while giving lawmakers another week to reach an agreement on an omnibus spending bill. Congress will also have additional time to negotiate over another coronavirus relief bill.
• Trump said Rudy Giuliani is “doing very well” after being hospitalized with coronavirus. “Rudy’s doing well. I just spoke to him,” Trump said of his personal attorney this afternoon. “He’s doing very well. No temperature. He actually called me early this morning. He was the first call I got, and he’s doing very well.”

Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

The number of coronavirus cases in the US is approaching 15 million, as infections surge across the nation.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the US has confirmed 14,883,966 cases of coronavirus since January.

The US death toll also continues to climb, with 283,211 Americans now having died of coronavirus.

The country confirmed 175,663 cases yesterday, according to JHU, so the case total will likely surpass 15m by tomorrow.

House majority leader Steny Hoyer has confirmed the chamber will vote on a one-week spending bill on Wednesday to avert a government shutdown.

“I am disappointed that we have not yet reached agreement on government funding,” Hoyer said in a tweet. “The House will vote on Wednesday on a one-week CR to keep government open while negotiations continue.”

Government funding is set to run out on Friday night, so a week-one spending bill would allow the country to avoid a shutdown and give lawmakers another week to reach an agreement on an omnibus bill.

The extension will also give Congress more time to potentially strike a deal on another coronavirus relief deal, although liability protections remain a major sticking point between Democrats and Republicans.

The office of special counsel has released a report concluding that Peter Navarro, the president’s senior trade adviser, repeatedly violated the Hatch Act, which restricts government employees from engaging in partisan activities.

The report asserts that Navarro “violated the Hatch Act by using his official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of the 2020 presidential election through both media appearances and social media.”

The OSC recorded at least six instances of Navarro attacking Joe Biden and/or Kamala Harris during media interviews conducted between May and October of this year.

The report noted that five of the six interviews came after the OSC sent Navarro a July letter informing him he was being investigated for potential Hatch Act violations.

“Dr. Navarro’s violations of the Hatch Act were knowing and willful,” the report says.

The report was referred to Donald Trump for potential disciplinary action, but it seems unlikely the president will take such action, given that more than a dozen of his advisers have faced similar allegations.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• Georgia is moving forward with recertifying Joe Biden’s victory after a second recount confirmed his win. Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, said this morning, “We have now counted legally-cast ballots three times, and the results remain unchanged.”
• Joe Biden’s team confirmed Xavier Becerra would be nominated to lead the department of health and human services. Former surgeon general Vivek Murthy will also be nominated to reprise his role under the Obama administration, and Dr Anthony Fauci will serve as Biden’s chief medical adviser, while staying on as the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
• Trump said Rudy Giuliani is “doing very well” after being hospitalized with coronavirus. “Rudy’s doing well. I just spoke to him,” Trump said of his personal attorney this afternoon. “He’s doing very well. No temperature. He actually called me early this morning. He was the first call I got, and he’s doing very well.”

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Donald Trump provided an update on his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who was admitted to a hospital yesterday after testing positive for coronavirus.

After awarding the presidential medal of freedom to wrestler Dan Gable in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that Giuliani is “doing very well.”

“Rudy’s doing well. I just spoke to him. He’s doing very well. No temperature. He actually called me early this morning. He was the first call I got, and he’s doing very well,” Trump said.

The president praised Giuliani, saying, “Greatest mayor in the history of New York, and what he’s doing now is more important, and he will admit that.”

Giuliani has led Trump’s legal efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, which have been broadly unsuccessful. Giuliani has also championed the president’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud.