President-elect Joe Biden will choose Janet Yellen, former chair of the Federal Reserve, as his secretary of the Treasury.
Yellen, who will be the first woman to hold the job - should she be confirmed by the Senate - will lead Biden's economic response to the coronavirus pandemic - which has wreaked havoc on the economy and led millions of Americans to lose their jobs.
She will also be asked to make good on the former vice president's campaign promise to narrow the economic disparities between the rich and middle class and poor Americans.
Meanwhile, the General Services Administration has informed Biden that the Trump administration is ready to begin the formal transition process, according to a letter from Administrator Emily Murphy sent late Monday.
Trump, in a post on Twitter, offered support for the move. Critics have said the president's refusal to accept the results undermined U.S. democracy and undercut the next administration's ability to fight the novel coronavirus.
While Trump stopped short of conceding, it was the closest he has come to acknowledging that it is time to hand over power to Biden, who will take office Jan. 20.
The administration's announcement will allow the president-elect to access millions of dollars in funds and focus on putting together a leadership team. It also paves the way for Biden and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris to receive regular national security briefings that Trump also gets.
While Trump on Monday said he backed GSA Administrator Emily Murphy's decision, he and his advisers vowed to continue fighting the election results. "Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good...fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same," Trump said on Twitter.
Trump later said on Twitter that his team would move "full speed ahead" with challenging "what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history," adding that he would "never concede."
Biden won 306 state-by-state electoral votes to Trump's 232. Biden also holds a lead of more than 6 million in the national popular vote.
Biden is starting to name his cabinet. Biden has pledged to choose a cabinet that reflects the diversity of the American population. His selections will be scrutinized by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and must win confirmation in a narrowly controlled Senate, whose majority party will be determined by two Georgia Senate runoffs in January. Here are Biden's selections so far.
Antony Blinken is Secretary of State. Blinken was deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration and has close ties with Biden. Alejandro Mayorkas will become Secretary of Homeland Security. Mayorkas is a former deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and will be the first Latino and immigrant nominated to head the agency.
The United Nations Ambassador will be Thomas-Greenfield - a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service who has served on four continents. She was President Barack Obama's top diplomat on Africa from 2013 to 2017, leading U.S. policy in sub-Saharan Africa during the West African Ebola outbreak.
John Kerry will become Biden's Special Envoy for Climate. Kerry is a prominent and longtime figure in the Democratic Party - a former secretary of state in the Obama administration; a former senator from Massachusetts for more than 25 years; and the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004. The special envoy for climate is not a Cabinet position, but Kerry will sit on the National Security Council, the first time the NSC will include an official dedicated to climate change.
