Biden promises COVID-19 aid as Trump hints at 2024

US President-elect Joe Biden has promised that more COVID-19 aid would be on the way, saying he would act quickly to provide more resources to fight the health crisis after his January 20 inauguration.

"My transition team is already working on what I will put forward to the next Congress to address the multiple crises we’re facing, especially the economic crisis and COVID," Biden told the workers at a roundtable in his home state of Delaware.

Republicans and Democrats are trying to break a months-long logjam in Congress over a stimulus package for businesses affected by coronavirus shutdowns as well as the millions of Americans who have lost jobs.

"I don't want you to give up hope," Biden told the workers. "Hang on, we'll get through this."

Biden also said in an interview on Tuesday, "You have over 10 million people out there who are worried (how) they can pay their next mortgage payment.”

“You have a significantly higher number of people who have no ability to pay their rent,” he added.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have so far failed to reach a comprehensive deal for coronavirus relief as Democrats point the finger at Republican leader in control of the Senate.

“Cases and hospitalizations are skyrocketing, which will cause the economy to further decline over the next few months,” Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said. “In the face of mass death and economic devastation, (Republican Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell is doing nothing to provide relief to American families.”

Millions of Americans are about to lose unemployment aid benefits unless lawmakers resume unemployment programs set to end on December 26, US media reports say.

“Without unemployment benefits and with savings badly depleted, families will be at high risk for food insecurity and loss of their homes, and many may be unable to pay for health care during some of the darkest days of the pandemic,” The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, was cited as saying. “The nation’s entire economy will suffer.”

McConnell has begun circulating new draft legislation after a bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled a $908 billion package.

273,181 people in the United States have died of COVID-19 as of Wednesday evening, Johns Hopkins University said.

The US death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 2,700 in one day on Wednesday, the highest since April. The number of new infections over the past 24 hours was 195,121, the university said.

Trump 2024 run

President Donald Trump hinted he may be ready to begin planning another run for the White House in 2024.

Trump has so far refused to concede to Biden, with his lawyers continuing to file legal challenges to the election outcome, alleging electoral fraud without providing evidence.

Trump's campaign said on Wednesday he had filed suit against the Wisconsin Election Commission asking a US District Court to find "constitutional violations" and send the matter to the state legislature to override the state’s results and select Republican electors.

Wisconsin, Arizona certify Biden wins, further cementing Trump loss

US President Donald Trump suffers another setback as the states of Wisconsin and Arizona certify Joe Biden as the winner of the November presidential election.

At a White House holiday reception on Tuesday night, Trump appeared to acknowledge that his legal efforts could fail and in that case he would run again.

"We are trying to do another four years," Trump said. "Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years.”

‘Trump foments violent rhetoric’

Trump again on Wednesday leveled unfounded accusations about the election being rigged and said he would keep up the fight against the outcome.

A day earlier, US Attorney General William Barr, who has long been seen as a Trump ally, said the Justice Department has found no evidence of widespread fraud.

Trump’s voting fraud claims have helped to raise as much as $170 million for an "Election Defense Fund" that can be used for a wide variety of future political activities, including another run for the presidency, according to US media reports.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Biden was headed for victory after the state's second vote recount and criticized Trump for fomenting false claims.

"Even after this office request that President Trump try and quell the violent rhetoric being born out of his continuing claims of winning the states where he obviously lost, he tweeted out 'expose the massive voter fraud in Georgia,'" said Raffensperger, a Republican.

Georgia election official condemns Trump after threat to worker

Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the Georgia secretary of state’s office, has condemned President Donald Trump and the state’s two Republican senators.

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