US election updates: Trump begins transition as race for House continues

Thank you for joining us for updates from the ongoing US election tallies, as well as the countdown to President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in office.

To find out how Israel is responding to the prospect of a second Trump White House, please read our coverage here.

Plus, you can get the scoop on how the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris fell short here. And learn more about how abortion factored into her campaign here.

We will be soon winding down this live page. Here’s a summary of the latest in US politics:

• Vote-counting continues for the final races for seats in the House of Representatives. Control of the chamber is as yet undecided, though Republicans are in the lead.
• If the Republicans win the House, they will have control of both chambers of Congress, plus the presidency. If the Democrats win, they hope to use their toehold to curb Trump’s legislative agenda.
• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told the press on Friday there is “a clear pathway” for the Democrats to win the House.
• President-elect Donald Trump has named his aide Susie Wiles as his future White House chief of staff.
• Advocates warn that Trump is already behind schedule in doing the necessary paperwork to arrange his transition to the White House.
• Trump has also engaged in a war of words with California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who pledged to “Trump-proof” his state and “protect California values”. On social media on Friday, Trump accused Newsom of trying to “KILL” the state.

Lateefah Simon, a civil rights organiser who is set to succeed Lee next year, will have big shoes to fill.

Simon, who is legally blind, has served on various boards and committees in California. In 2003, she received the MacArthur “genius” Fellowship for leading a programme to help troubled girls. She was only 26 years old at the time.

She worked with Harris when the vice president was district attorney in San Francisco to create a programme to help young men charged with drug offences.

On policy, Simon has embraced progressive priorities, including advocating for universal healthcare and affordable housing. She echoes Lee in “challenging the unchecked growth of military spending”. Her platform also calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

She was the only member of Congress to vote against the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, the legislation that paved the way for the US war in Afghanistan, as well as a second authorisation against Iraq a year later.

But by January, Representative Barbara Lee’s time in the House of Representatives will come to a close.

The famed progressive politician took a gamble earlier this year when she declined to seek re-election in her California district. Instead, she entered a crowded competition for the late Dianne Feinstein’s seat in the US Senate.

Ultimately, Lee was outmatched in California’s open primary, failing to advance to the general election. She came in fourth place.

But on Friday night, after days of anticipation, a new Democrat was named to Lee’s seat in the House of Representatives: Lateefah Simon, a civil rights organiser.

To the north, Democrats also held onto another seat in Oregon’s 6th district, where Andrea Salinas won re-election.

For months on the campaign trail, Trump has pledged to enact a “mass deportation” effort to rid the US of its population of undocumented migrants.

But Alexandra Miller, the interim CEO of the immigration advocacy group VECINA, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s plans raise not only logistical questions but humanitarian ones as well.

“What is the problem that incumbent president Trump is trying to solve for?” Miller asked.

“If he’s trying to protect disaffected American citizens, spending hundreds of billions of dollars to deport migrants who are parts of our community, who have families here, is not going to actually fix that problem.

“Instead, it’s going to have massive humanitarian implications, be logistically incredibly challenging and cost the taxpayers money that shouldn’t be spent in that way.”

Miller added that the US has a duty under its own laws to weigh asylum claims, even if someone comes across the border irregularly. Those laws are in place to help people fleeing persecution, who may not have the time to apply for asylum from abroad.

“Under US law, based on international norms, we are not allowed to refoul or send people back to countries where they faced persecution based on who they are, whether it’s their race, their religion, their political affiliations, their gender identity, et cetera,” Miller said.

“And so I think the idea of indiscriminately sending people to countries where they may face persecution and harm is incredibly troubling.”

Major cities, with their ethnic and cultural diversity, are usually liberal strongholds.

But over the years, support for Democratic presidential candidates has been steadily decreasing in New York City, the US’s most populated city.

In 2012, then-President Barack Obama won about 81 percent of the votes in the Big Apple. Hillary Clinton received about 79 percent four years later. President Biden dipped to 76 percent, and then Harris slipped even further to about 68 percent.

The results reflect a broader trend of Harris underperforming in urban areas.

Mayor London Breed’s term as head of San Francisco’s city government was historic: In 2018, she was the first Black woman elected to the executive role.

But controversies during her tenure sparked a backlash that culminated with her defeat in San Francisco’s elections this week.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco has faced what critics call a “doom loop”: a cycle of negative publicity and economic struggles. During the first two years of the pandemic, nearly 64,000 people left the city, which has struggled with a high cost of living and a housing shortage.

Despite declining crime levels, Breed also faced criticism that the city’s streets were unsafe. In addition, she undertook controversial initiatives to address the San Francisco homelessness crisis, including the removal of encampments and bus tickets out of the city for unhoused people.

The result was a race for re-election that saw Breed fending off Democratic adversaries on both the left and right.

Ultimately, it was centrist Daniel Lurie, heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, who won the mayor’s race in a city that has become a symbol for left-wing politics.

On Friday, he gave a victory speech that sought to address the shortcomings of his predecessor. He identified public safety, business development, affordable housing and the “drug and behavioural health crisis” as top priorities.

“I entered this race, not as a politician but as a dad who couldn’t explain to my kids what they were seeing on our streets,” Lurie said.

“As your mayor, I am going to take aim at the problems that need solving right here in San Francisco,” he added. “Only by reclaiming our place as a thriving American city can San Francisco be a model of progress for our nation.”

With Trump coming into office and Republicans taking over the Senate early next year, the clock is ticking for Democrats to put more judges on the bench in the federal courts.

Biden announced two more nominations late on Friday. He tapped Tali Farhadian Weinstein for the Southern District of New York and Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood for the District Court of Guam.

“The president is announcing his intent to nominate two individuals to federal district courts – both of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution,” the White House said in a statement.

“These choices also continue to fulfill the president’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country – both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.”

In the US government system, the president nominates federal judges, but the Senate has to confirm them.

In addition to overseeing criminal and civil cases, federal judges can assess the legality of the government’s conduct. They can block presidential decrees and have an enormous effect on governance in the country.

The exit poll, commissioned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), says the Green Party candidate won 53.2 percent of Muslim votes in the US.

Trump received 21.4 percent of the votes and Harris 20.3, according to the poll, which surveyed 1,575 Muslim voters.

“We applaud American Muslims for their participation throughout the 2024 election season despite deep disillusionment due to the Gaza genocide,” CAIR government affairs director Robert McCaw said in a statement.

“Through their activism during the primaries, their engagement with various presidential candidates, and their high turnout in the general election, American Muslims made their voices heard and reaffirmed their important place in our nation’s politics.”

Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat, has accused Trump of “cozying up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin again”.

“Millions of lives hang in the balance – America’s support for Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty and democracy can’t waver,” Pallone wrote in a social media post.

Trump, who spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, has promised to end the war that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered, without providing details about his plan.

Critics have denounced Trump for praising the Russian president in the past, and in October, veteran journalist Bob Woodward reported that Trump sent Putin COVID-19 tests at the height of the pandemic, when Americans were struggling to get a hold of the testing kits.

There continues to be a slow drip of races for the House of Representatives being called, as control over the chamber remains up for grabs.

In the last few hours, one of Nebraska’s few swing districts has tipped decisively for the Republicans, with the re-election of incumbent Representative Don Bacon.

A retired Air Force officer, Bacon beat back a competitive challenge from Democrat Tony Vargas, a member of the Nebraska state Senate.

It was a slightly unexpected turn of events, since Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, won Nebraska’s 2nd district earlier this week.

The district is sometimes called the state’s “blue dot”, as it can flip Democratic, creating an island of blue in the midst of a largely red state.

Nebraska is one of only two states that does not have a winner-takes-all system to grant its Electoral College votes: Presidential candidates have to win each vote district by district.

The 2nd district, home to the city of Omaha, therefore saw an influx of outside spending as Democrats tried to win its Electoral College vote and its House race.

It seems like US politicians always want more donations.

“It is okay to feel sad and disappointed about the outcome of the presidential election. But, as I said on Wednesday, we can’t ever give up,” Harris said in a mass text to supporters through her campaign today.

“There are critical Senate races where ballots are still being counted. These Senate seats — in Arizona and Nevada — will determine our ability to put a check on Donald Trump’s power.”

The text message asked supporters to donate to the Harris Fight Fund, an arm of the campaign that supports down-ballot candidates. With all the votes already cast, it is not clear how the donations would help sway the Senate races in Arizona and Nevada.

People at this shelter on the southern border of Mexico with Guatemala say that they are somewhat less hopeful at the possibility of a new life for them in the United States, after the victory of Donald Trump in the United States presidential elections.

‘Uncertainty’ is a word that we heard a lot among them, in particular. They fear that once Trump comes into office, he could get rid of a number of options that do exist right now for them to eventually enter the US legally.

Among them, the possibility of requesting from here asylum through an app. People have been waiting for weeks at times, even months, for that appointment for a safe passage, a legal way, a temporary permit to cross through Mexico to go to that appointment at the US-Mexico border.

The fear is that Trump, when he comes in, he could get rid of that, among other opportunities that they have.

We also heard earlier on Friday from the Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon, who said that the policies currently in place are working.

He said that the number of illegal crossings between Mexico and the US has fallen by 76 percent this year and that they hope that they will be able to discuss these issues with the new Trump administration to show them that indeed the system, their model, is working as it is without the need for a further crackdown.

Well …

It appears that another Trump presidency is not scaring off investors. The S&P 500, an index of the largest 500 companies on stock exchanges, rose on Thursday and Friday.

Other important indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, also saw some gains.

The rally also coincided with another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Moving into the White House is a complicated business. Even before an election is called, major-party campaigns are expected to sign agreements that would ease the transition into a new presidency.

But one nonprofit government watchdog revealed in a press call on Friday that the Trump team is running behind.

The Partnership for Public Service told news agencies that the Trump administration missed key deadlines in September and October that would help with the transition process.

“The story’s not finished. But they’re late,” Max Stier, the nonprofit’s CEO and president, said. “And even if they manage to get these agreements in now, they’re late in getting those done.”

Some of those agreements are necessary to ensure security clearances can be granted to Trump’s incoming team. Others concern the establishment of an ethics plan that the Trump administration will abide by while in office. That would include rules governing donation disclosures.

Stier warned that Trump’s team has thus far approached the process in a “different way than any other prior transition has”.

According to The Associated Press, Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes has responded that the president-elect’s “lawyers continue to constructively engage with the Biden-Harris Administration lawyers regarding all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act”.

For better or for worse, the deep-blue city of San Francisco, California, has become synonymous with Democratic policies.

It is also where Harris served as district attorney, but the vice president failed to translate her home-field advantage into ballots. She scored a lower-than-expected portion of San Francisco’s votes, when compared to Biden’s performance in 2020.

Harris received 80 percent of the votes, five points less than Biden four years ago. The number of voters also dropped significantly overall. There was 86 percent turnout in 2020, compared to 50 percent on Tuesday.

While California remains unshakably Democratic, the results in San Francisco may represent a sign of the lack of enthusiasm for Harris in Democratic strongholds, which helped Trump win the presidency.

While control of the US presidency and the Senate has already been decided, there remains one major prize that has yet to be claimed: leadership over the House of Representatives.

With 435 total seats in the House of Representatives, it takes more than 218 victories to claim control over the chamber.

And so far, Republicans are in the lead – but more than two dozen races have yet to be decided. Votes are still being tallied and may continue to be in the coming days.

What are some of the outstanding races for the House? Here are three to watch:

• Alaska’s at-large district: Incumbent Representative Mary Peltola made history in 2022 as the first Alaska Native to enter Congress, but her rival from that race, Republican businessman Nick Begich III, has eked ahead in this year’s vote count.
• California’s 21st district: Centrist Democrat Jim Costa is a veteran of the House: He has represented different districts since 2005, and he leads the moderate Blue Dog Coalition. But his rival from 2022, former FBI agent Michael Maher, has returned for a second go at Costa’s seat, and the race is tight.
• Arizona’s 6th district: Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani is on the ropes in his battle for re-election against Democrat Kirsten Engel, a law professor and former Arizona state politician. This is another rematch: Engel and Ciscomani previously faced off in 2022, sparring over issues like climate change and immigration.

Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel Katz, who recently replaced Yoav Gallant as Israel’s defence minister, and underscored the Biden administration’s “ironclad” support for the US ally, the Pentagon says.

“The Secretary reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic arrangement in Lebanon that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

“He also emphasized the US commitment to securing the release of all hostages, including US citizens, and the need to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.”

It’s not clear whether Biden will engage in a serious diplomatic effort to end the US-backed war on Gaza and Lebanon before leaving office on January 20 of next year.

As we reported earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tapped US-born settler Yechiel Leiter as the country’s next ambassador to Washington, signalling a potential push to bolster illegal settlements under Trump.

According to several Israeli reports, Leiter was involved in his youth with the far-right Jewish Defense League (JDL), which was led by Rabbi Meir Kahane.

Over the past decades, JDL officials have faced charges over violent attacks, including a plot to bomb a mosque in California.

The group is also linked to the 1985 assassination of Arab American activist Alex Odeh.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said he takes Leiter’s appointment “personally”.

“The JDL murdered my colleague Alex Odeh, threatened my life, [and] firebombed my office. He should be denied entry to the US,” Zogby wrote in a social media post.

Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation, has criticised Democratic officials for not taking concerns about the cost of living seriously enough.

“Dear Dems: Please don’t mock working-class voters who care about the price of gas or bacon…. Economic insecurity and the effects of inflation are everyday issues for working people,” Gonzalez wrote in a social media post.

“Listen. Please listen so we can organize.”