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Biden to have pared back inauguration ceremony due to Covid-19

US President-elect Joe Biden also urged the US Congress to pass a virus relief bill immediately and follow up with "hundreds of billions of dollars" in more aid in January.

AP

President-elect Joe Biden puts on his face mask after speaking about jobs at The Queen Theater on December 4, 2020, in Wilmington, DE. US.

Setting a sharp contrast with US President Donald Trump, whose administration began with a fight over the size of his inaugural crowds, President-elect Joe Biden has planned a scaled-back event for safety's sake during the pandemic.

The Democratic former vice president said he does expect to be sworn in on January 20 on the platform already being constructed on the steps of the US Capitol, but wanted to avoid the crowds that typically gather on the National Mall and along Pennsylvania Avenue to view the ceremony and parade.

"My guess is there probably will not be a gigantic inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. But my guess is you'll see a lot of virtual activity in states all across America, engaging even more people than before," Biden said in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, where he is preparing his new administration.

Trump's administration memorably began in January 2017 with then-spokesman Sean Spicer berating the news media for publishing photos that showed far smaller crowds than had gathered for President Barack Obama's historic swearing in as the nation's first Black president eight years earlier.

Rising numbers

Biden said his staff is working with the same team that produced August's largely online Democratic National Convention to plan a swearing-in that did not raise the risks of accelerating the spread of Covid-19, which has surged to a fresh record high in the United States.

"People want to celebrate," said Biden. "People want to be able to say we've passed the baton. We're moving on. Democracy has functioned."

The ceremony typically begins with the outgoing president and the president-elect riding together from the White House to the Capitol.

After the new president is sworn in, he rides back along Pennsylvania Avenue to assume his new duties while the former president departs, typically by helicopter.

Trump, who has refused to concede the election, has not said if he will attend the ceremony. Instead, according to a source familiar with the internal White House discussion, he is considering launching his bid to run again in 2024 that day.

The pandemic has killed more than 273,000 people in the United States and cases and hospitalisations are surging as the winter months approach.

Biden urges broad action on coronavirus aid

Biden said Friday's "grim" jobs report shows the economic recovery is stalling, and urged the US Congress to pass a coronavirus relief bill immediately and follow up with "hundreds of billions of dollars" in more aid in January.

"If we don't act now, the future will be very bleak. Americans need help and they need it now. And they need more to come early next year," said Biden, who takes office on January 20.

Biden offered backing for an emerging bipartisan package of around $908 billion in Covid-19 spending that has drawn tentative support from members of both parties in Congress.

Biden said he would press for more relief once he is in office.

"Any package passed in the lame-duck session is not going to be enough overall. It's critical but it's just a start. Congress is going to need to act again in January," Biden told reporters in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden said he expected Republicans to join Democrats in delivering more coronavirus relief because "they are going to find there is an overwhelming need." He sidestepped questions about whether he has spoken to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell about negotiations.

Trump campaign files lawsuit in Georgia

Trump says it has filed a lawsuit in Georgia state court seeking to invalidate the presidential election results there.

In a statement, the Trump administration has said that the lawsuit would include sworn statements from Georgia residents alleging fraud.

The Trump camp has filed a slew of lawsuits across the United States in a flailing bid to turn his defeat in the November 3 election into a victory.

All but one of them have been rejected by the courts.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies