Biden reaches deadline that makes victory ‘irreversible’

Bloomberg

Joe Biden will be one formal step closer to the presidency after Tuesday’s deadline for states to certify their slates of electors to the Electoral College — locking in the names of the people who will formally vote to make Biden the president.
Once that happens, there’s little turning back. Congress must by law accept those electors if there’s no outstanding litigation, and President Donald Trump’s legal challenges have even less hope of changing the outcome. Electors meet in each state on December 14 to officially cast their votes.
All of the battleground states where Trump tried to contest the results have certified their presidential election tallies and appointed their electors for Biden, and he has more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed. Only Colorado and Hawaii are left to certify their results among the states Biden won but even they cannot change the outcome.
Federal law says that if a state appoints its electors and all litigation is resolved by December 8 — the so-called safe harbor deadline — Congress must consider them “conclusive” when it meets in a joint session on January 6 to tally the votes.
Normally, the deadline passes without much notice. But this year, Trump has refused to concede despite Biden’s clear victory with 306 Electoral College votes, the same as Trump had in 2016. Trump and his allies have claimed, without evidence, that the election was “rigged” and that he actually won.
There is still pending litigation in Wisconsin and some other states, but the Biden electors are valid even if the lawsuits aren’t resolved until after the safe harbour deadline, said Edward Foley, a professor
and director of an election-law program at Ohio State University, who has studied disputed elections.
As long as there is only one submission of electoral votes from a state, Congress must accept it unless it’s rejected by both chambers — which isn’t going to happen, Foley said. Congress can still accept a submission that lacks safe harbour status, he said.
“They won’t jeopardise Biden’s inauguration, and they’re not going to jeopardise the ability of the electors to meet and cast their vote,” Foley said of the outstanding suits.
Lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign, led by his lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, plus cases brought by Republican groups have largely been rejected for a lack of evidence. They include challenges to the results in Arizona and Nevada.

Biden to name Austin as first black defense chief
Bloomberg

President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate retired Army General Lloyd Austin as defense secretary, according to three people familiar with the decision, making him the first African American to lead the Pentagon.
Austin has already had a career punctuated by firsts — including as the first Black general to command US forces in the Middle East.
The choice of Austin came as Biden was under pressure from African American lawmakers and organisations to deliver on his pledge to produce the most diverse cabinet in US history.
Biden’s transition office declined to comment on his decision in advance of an announcement.
In addition to winning Senate confirmation, Austin would need Congress to waive a law requiring military officers to be retired for seven years before serving as defense secretary. Lawmakers have said they would be reluctant to provide yet another exemption.