Coverage on this live blog has ended.
What to know about the Trump transition plans
- President-elect Donald Trump, fresh on the heels of his victory in the election, is already working on staffing up his next administration. Some high-profile options for Cabinet posts, such as Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, have removed themselves from contention for now, but other hires are underway, like the selection of co-campaign chair Susie Wiles to be the first female White House chief of staff.
- Meanwhile, the judge overseeing Trump’s criminal election interference trial has granted special counsel Jack Smith's request to pause the proceedings for a month to decide how to move forward, likely the beginning of an end to the case.
- Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election Wednesday, and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, delivered remarks on the path forward in Minnesota this afternoon, saying he'd protect his state from Trump’s “hateful agenda.” President Joe Biden addressed the nation yesterday and vowed a peaceful transfer of power.
- Republicans secured a Senate majority, though two competitive Senate races are too close or too early to call. Control of the House still hangs in the balance.
Some Democrats blame party’s position on transgender rights in part for Harris’ loss
Desperate for answers on what went wrong on Election Day, finger-pointing among Democrats and media pundits has been swift. Many — in private — are holding Biden responsible. Others are blaming the operatives who have run the party’s last several campaigns. But some are pointing to an issue with far less power in American politics: transgender rights.
“The Democrats have to stop pandering to the far left,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., told The New York Times on Wednesday. “I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports.”
Elections boards in Maryland received bomb threats, officials say
Several local boards of elections in Maryland received bomb threats this evening, according to a state elections administrator.
“Safety is top concern- but we WILL resume canvassing tomorrow,” official Jared DeMarinis wrote on X after elections buildings were evacuated today. “Cowardly threats whether from abroad or not shall not deter us. You have failed. Our democracy is strong, our staff is strong, our mission will be accomplished. Every vote counts, count every vote.”
Gov. Wes Moore said his office is "closely working with state and local officials" on the bomb threats.
"It is imperative that we continue to provide a safe space for those overseeing our election processes as we finish counting every ballot," he added in a thread on X. "Threats like this have no place in our state or in our democracy, and we will work to hold those involved accountable.
The Baltimore County Police Department says it is aware and investigating the bomb threats, which were received via email by the county’s board of elections office.
It is unclear which boards received the threats, but all election workers are reportedly safe.
Democrat Jacky Rosen wins re-election to the U.S. Senate in Nevada, NBC News projects
Democrat Jacky Rosen wins re-election to the U.S. Senate in Nevada, NBC News projects.
With her victory, Rosen defeated Republican Sam Brown and held on to an important seat for her party. While NBC News has projected Republicans will hold the majority in the upper chamber, the number of races left to be called leaves the size of their majority unclear.
Although the margins are often close, Republicans haven’t won a Senate race in Nevada since 2012.
Harvard Institute of Politics student president calls on the IOP to abandon nonpartisanship
In an article in the Harvard Crimson today, Pratyush Mallick, the student president of the university's Institute of Politics, called on the IOP to abandon its nonpartisan principles in the wake of Trump's victory.
"When democracy itself is under attack, nonpartisanship is not the hill to die on. And it certainly should not be used as an excuse to platform election deniers and those who seek to dismantle our democracy. People and rhetoric that enable violent, authoritarian, and oppressive governance have no place at an institute for civil political disagreement like the IOP," Mallick wrote.
"My time in IOP leadership has been defined by a desire to navigate a space where both major political parties can find common ground. Nonpartisanship should not suppose moral equivalence between those upholding democratic norms and those actively tearing them down," he added.
Setti D. Warren, the director of the IOP, said in a subsequent opinion piece that it would be "a disservice to our students — and to our country" if "only one side is represented" at the IOP.
"As the director and leader of the IOP, I believe that for it to be successful, experiential learning must happen on a nonpartisan basis," Warren wrote.
Changing the IOP’s mission in the way Mallick advocated for would require a vote from the institute’s leadership and staff, according to a former IOP president.
Rep. Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez wins re-election in Washington, NBC News projects
Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez wins re-election to the U.S. House in Washington's 3rd congressional district, NBC News projects.
A centrist who occasionally bucks with her party to side with Republicans, Gluesenkamp Perez defeated Republican Joe Kent in a closely-watched rematch after she narrowly beat Kent during midterms two years ago, obtaining 50.1% of the vote to his 49.3%.
Elon Musk briefly joins Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Tech mogul Elon Musk briefly joined Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Musk, who campaigned for Trump in the final weeks of the 2024 race, was not scheduled to be on the call but walked into the room and greeted Zelenskyy, according to the source. He was not part of a substantive conversation between the two leaders, the person said.
Trump-appointed judge pokes fun at Harris in court order
Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty issued an order today in a court case about the Biden administration’s contact with social media companies requesting the removal of certain content, seemingly mocking Harris’ now famous line “what can be, unburdened by what has been” in his memo.
In the memo, the Louisiana-based Doughty rules that the plaintiffs of the case, which made its way up the appellate process to the Supreme Court and got remanded back to Doughty’s court, can collect limited jurisdictional discovery following the Supreme Court’s decision, in order to cure weaknesses in their case.
“Charged with this mandate, we now ‘consistent[ly]’ ‘proceed[]’—burdened by what has been,” Doughty wrote in the order.
The judge additionally referenced a looming “regime change,” noting Trump and his allies will soon be in control of the agencies currently listed as defendants in the case.
Policy areas Vance could pursue as vice president
Vance, rocketing to the nation’s second-highest perch after just two years in elected office as a senator, has publicly offered at least two issues that he would like to take on in his new role.
In an NBC News interview at the start of his campaign, Vance said he’d like to be given “some influence” over border policy — perhaps also meant as a knock on Harris as the campaign tried to fault her for what it characterized as weaknesses in the Biden White House’s immigration policies.
Vance also said he would also like to take on a leading federal voice on the issue of addiction and substance abuse — a topic the senator has long been vocal about in his public life.
Substance abuse and recovery both formed central pillars of his stump speech, in which he often tied the issue to the U.S. southern border and detailed fairly extensively his mother’s battle with addiction and path to sobriety, which he explored in his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy."
Even before he joined the ticket, Vance relished his role as an outspoken defender of the now president-elect on cable news and social media. That exercise is likely to continue, especially given how he emerged as Trump's explainer-in-chief in the waning days of the election.
California resident arrested for trespassing at Mar-a-Lago
Zijie Li was arrested on a trespassing charge at Mar-a-Lago yesterday, according to the Palm Beach Police Department.
Li, of El Monte, California, had been issued a trespass warning in July for “attempting to enter Mar-a-Lago in an effort to speak with the former President," police said.
"After being issued the trespass warning, it is documented that Li has come into the town of Palm Beach 4 additional times, driving up to the north check point but not attempting to enter Mar-a-Lago,” police added in the probable cause affidavit.
Li was also encountered in Palm Beach later in July when he was placing paperwork referencing FPOTUS on vehicles, police added.
It is unclear whether Li has entered a plea.
Bond was set at $100,000.
Walz vows to fight Trump and reach out to his supporters upon return to Minnesota
Walz vowed to protect his state from Trump’s “hateful agenda” while delivering remarks in Eagen, Minnesota, this afternoon.
“The other side spent a lot of time campaigning and talking about and promising that they would leave things up to the states. Well, I’m willing to take them at their word for that,” said Walz, who was Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic ticket and whose second term as governor ends in 2027.