U.S. President-elect Joe Biden waves as he arrives at Hartsfield Jackson International airport to campaign for Democratic U.S. senatorial candidates in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., December 15, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Mike Segar
Newly United States President-elect Joe Biden has joined the Democratic battle for control of the US Senate on Tuesday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others top Republicans and holdout foreign leaders was finally acknowledged Biden’s win for White House.
Biden, in the meantime, flew into Georgia, a southern state he won in an upset against President Donald Trump, to host a rally for two Democratic candidates in runoff races that will determine the Senate’s balance of power.
Addressing the crowd at the drive-in event in Atlanta, Biden said, “Honk for your next United States senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock”. During this, he urged voters to turn out in force on 5 January.
“Send me these two men, and we will control the Senate!” he added.
One day after the Electoral College affirmed Biden’s victory, attention shifted to the looming Senate battle — and to the shape of the incoming administration, as Biden also announced he had nominated Pete Buttigieg, a former Indiana mayor and presidential rival, as secretary of transportation.
Pete Buttigieg would be the first gay person confirmed by the Senate to a presidential cabinet post — in sync with Biden’s pledge to usher in the most diverse cabinet ever when he takes office on January 20.
Meanwhile, Trump still refuses to concede the defeat, continuing to tweet baseless allegations of mass fraud that have been rejected in dozens of lawsuits, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell finally broke his silence with a message to the president: “It’s over.”
“The Electoral College has spoken. So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” McConnell said on the Senate floor, adding that Americans can also “take pride” that they will have their first female vice president in Kamala Harris.
Biden told reporters before flying to Georgia that he had a “good” phone conversation with McConnell, a longtime Senate colleague. “I told him that while we disagree on a lot of things, there are things we can work together on,” Biden said.The Electoral College confirmation triggered an acknowledgment of Biden’s win from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said he was “ready for collaboration” with the Democrat. Source: e
