Devex: Aid advocates look for early signals of Biden’s plans for USAID
“With six weeks remaining until inauguration day for President-elect Joe Biden, the U.S. development community is watching closely for signals about how the incoming team might approach leadership, policy priorities, and budgeting for U.S. foreign aid agencies. While some insiders hope Biden’s arrival might help repair broken relationships and rebuild strained bureaucracies, they also caution that aid advocates should not expect a budget windfall, or a quick fix to long-standing problems. As with every presidential transition, many eyes are on whom the Biden team might nominate as administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development…” (Igoe, 12/9).

The Hill: Biden, Trump offer dueling outlooks on coronavirus pandemic
“President Trump’s and President-elect Joe Biden’s starkly different outlooks on the coronavirus pandemic were on display in real time on Tuesday, underscoring the distrust and problems that have hindered the country’s pandemic response for months. Trump took a victory lap during a White House event on Operation Warp Speed, boasting of rapid vaccine development that he vowed would cause cases to ‘skyrocket down.’ At the same time, Biden was introducing members of his administration’s health team in Wilmington, Del., where he cautioned that ‘things may well get worse before they get better’…” (Samuels, 12/8).

The Hill: Biden aims for 100 million vaccinations in first hundred days
“President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday laid out three goals for the first hundred days of his administration’s COVID-19 response: getting 100 million people vaccinated against the virus, requiring masks where he has authority to, and getting kids back in school. Biden laid out his plan while introducing nominees and appointees who will play a key role in his administration’s response to the pandemic…” (Hellmann/Manchester, 12/8).

Additional coverage of Biden’s pick for CDC director is available from The Hill and Nature.