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Cindy McCain joins board of Biden transition team

Photo: FilmMagic/FilmMagic for U.S.VETS

Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. John McCain, has joined the board of Joe Biden's presidential transition team.

Why it matters: McCain, who endorsed Biden last week after allegations in The Atlantic that President Trump had denigrated members of the military, joins former Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald as the second registered Republican on the transition board.

The big picture: Other high-profile members of the transition board include New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, former 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former national security adviser Susan Rice, and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, according to the Wall Street Journal.

What they're saying: "This transition is like no other, preparing amid the backdrop of a global health crisis and struggling economy, which makes Mrs. McCain’s experience as a business woman, philanthropist, and longtime advocate for issues impacting women and children all the more valuable," said transition co-chair and former Sen. Ted Kaufman.

  • "Diversity of ideology and background is a core value of the transition, and today’s announcement is another step demonstrating the importance of unifying the country under a Biden-Harris administration.”

Go deeper: The top Republicans who aren't voting for Trump in 2020

Go deeper

Ursula Perano
Dec 30, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Biden taps Obama veterans Kathleen Hicks and Colin Kahl for top Pentagon roles

Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden announced Wednesday he would select former Obama administration officials Kathleen Hicks and Colin Kahl to serve in top civilian roles at the Department of Defense.

The state of play: Hicks, who previously served as a deputy under secretary of defense and has remained a trusted Biden adviser, was nominated to become the first female deputy defense secretary.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Orion Rummler
48 mins ago - Politics & Policy

DOJ watchdog to probe whether officials sought to alter election results

Former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump exit Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 20. Photo: Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

The Justice Department's inspector general will investigate whether any current or former DOJ officials "engaged in an improper attempt to have DOJ seek to alter the outcome" of the 2020 election, the agency announced Monday.

Driving the news: The investigation comes in the wake of a New York Times report that alleged that Jeffrey Clark, the head of DOJ's civil division, had plotted with President Trump to oust acting Attorney General Jeffery Rosen in a scheme to overturn the election results in Georgia.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
1 hour ago - Podcasts

Google's chief health officer Karen DeSalvo on vaccinating America

Google on Monday became the latest Big Tech company to get involved with COVID-19 vaccinations. Not just by doing things like incorporating vaccination sites into its maps, but by helping to turn some of its offices and parking lots into vaccination sites.

Axios Re:Cap goes deeper into what Google is doing, and why now, with Dr. Karen DeSalvo, Google's chief health officer who previously worked at HHS and as health commissioner for New Orleans.