WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will meet with state attorneys general at the White House on Thursday, a day after filing a motion to join a Supreme Court challenge launched by Texas that seeks to invalidate President-elect Joe Biden’s election win in four battleground states.
Trump is having lunch with the attorneys general in the Cabinet Room, which will be closed to the press. While it’s unclear what they plan to discuss, Republican attorneys general from 17 states sought to join the lawsuit Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., reached out to his GOP colleagues Wednesday on Trump’s behalf asking them to support the lawsuit in an email with the subject line, “Time-sensitive request from President Trump.”
“President Trump called me this morning to express his great appreciation for our effort to file an amicus brief in the Texas case on behalf of concerned Members of Congress,” Johnson wrote in the email, which was obtained by NBC News and confirmed by Johnson’s office.
“He specifically asked me to contact all Republican Members of the House and Senate today and request that all join on to our brief,” he continued. “He said he will be anxiously awaiting the final list to review.”
Trump is expected to deliver remarks Thursday night at a congressional ball being held at the White House.
- Biden is expected to name Katherine Tai as his United States trade representative, two sources familiar with the matter said. Tai, 45, has been the top trade lawyer on the House Ways and Means Committee since 2017 and is the chief adviser to House Democrats on international trade issues. She previously led China trade enforcement at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 2011 to 2014.
- Biden will travel to Georgia on Tuesday to rally support for Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock ahead of the state’s Jan. 5 runoff election.
- Hunter Biden said Wednesday that federal officials in Delaware are investigating his taxes. There are reports that the Department of Justice is scrutinizing some of his Chinese business dealings and other transactions.
- John Kerry wants to strengthen the Paris climate accord, which he helped write, suggesting a pivot for U.S. policy when he becomes the nation’s climate czar in January. “It has to be stronger,” he told NBC’s Geoff Bennett in an exclusive interview Wednesday, stressing that the multinational deal was always intended to be a first step.
- More than 200 people attended a “Holiday Cheer” reception hosted by the Department of State on Tuesday night at Blair House, the presidential guest house, a U.S. official said. The Covid-19 guidance for Washington, D.C., is that indoor gatherings may not exceed 10 people.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will both separately receive the presidential daily briefing Thursday and meet with their transition advisers.
Harris is also expected to meet with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for the first time Thursday, a congressional aide said, joining lawmakers at one of the group’s weekly meetings, which take place virtually.