Transition Roundup: Biden Urges Prompt Hearings for His Nominees; Ethics Office Updates Transition Resources 

Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the Justice Department has not found any evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election that would change the outcome. However, President Trump and his campaign legal team still asserted there was much illegal voting. Here are some other recent headlines you might have missed.

President-elect Biden hopes to enact a new economic stimulus package and issue a slew of executive orders to undo many of the Trump administration’s actions during his first 100 days in office, CNN reported on Tuesday. “His transition team has spent months thinking through the unilateral actions Biden could take almost immediately upon entering the White House,” said the report. “No final decisions have been made on specific steps, but a transition official said Biden will consider using the many ‘levers at his disposal.’” 

Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, briefed members of Biden’s transition team on Monday and they had a separate conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, ABC reported on Tuesday. 

While introducing his picks for economic posts on Tuesday, Biden said, “I hope these outstanding nominees will receive a prompt hearing, and that we will be able to work across the aisle in good faith and move forward as one country.” Senate Republicans largely have not committed to this, as CNN pointed out. The two-runoff elections in Georgia in January will determine which party will be in the majority. 

Following Republicans threatening not to confirm Neera Tanden as Office of Management and Budget director because of her mean tweets about them, an opinion columnist for The New York Times asked Biden if such tweets should be a disqualifying factor in the modern era? “That disqualifies almost every Republican senator and 90% of the [Trump] administration,” Biden joked. “But by the way, she’s smart as hell. Yeah, I think they’re going to pick a couple of people just to fight [over] no matter what.”

Communications Workers of America, which represents over 300,000 telephone and cable TV services workers, said on Tuesday they urged Biden to appoint Debbie Goldman, formerly CWA’s research director and telecommunications policy director, as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and make Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel chairwoman. “As you know, the Communications Workers of America was very enthusiastic about your focus throughout the campaign on the rights and conditions facing working people, and your making broadband deployment a top infrastructure priority,” President Chris Shelton wrote in a letter. “[Goldman and Rosenworcel] will undoubtedly serve to make Biden’s vision for equitable deployment of next generation broadband networks a priority while protecting both consumers and good jobs in the telecommunications industry.”

Seven of the leading civil rights groups in the country are trying to meet with Biden over the next few days to encourage him to appoint Black individuals to top roles in his administration, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. 

Biden added more members to his inaugural committee on Tuesday: Andrienne Elrod (director of talent and external relations), Alana Mounce (chief-of-staff), Katie Petrelius (national finance director), Pili Tobar (communications director) and Christian Tom (digital director), Politico reported. 

The Office of Government Ethics said on Wednesday that it published an updated version of its “Guide to Drafting [Senate-Confirmed Presidential Appointees] Ethics Agreements.” See all of the ethics office’s transition resources here. 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he’s spoken with former fed chair Janet Yellen, who is Biden’s pick for his role, as part of the transition process, while testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

Trump’s fiscal 2022 proposed budget for the Pentagon is “what budget analysts say is an obvious and unorthodox effort to box in President-elect Joe Biden,” Defense One reported on Tuesday. “In presidential transitions dating back to at least 1992, the outgoing administration would turn over the prior years’ work to the incoming team, without publicly releasing it, in what is a bit of a gentleman’s agreement to let the new president tailor it to his own priorities,” said the report. However, “after Trump’s apparent Election Day loss, the White House defiantly directed the Pentagon and other federal agencies to proceed with planning next year’s budget request anyway.”

On Tuesday, Barr also said he appointed Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham as special counsel to continue to investigate the probe of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, which “[grants] him authority to complete the work without being easily fired,” the AP reported. 

Upcoming: Biden will take part in a virtual roundtable with workers and small business owners who were impacted by the recession. The time is unclear, so far. 

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany will hold a press briefing at 1 p.m. 

Today’s GovExec Daily podcast episode is about how the portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program all increased in value in November after several months of turmoil.

Help us understand the situation better. Are you a federal employee, contractor or military member with information, concerns, etc. about how your agency is handling the transition? Email us at newstips@govexec.com.