The two departments have a key role in supporting American households. HUD has responsibility for affordable housing, while USDA oversees food assistance programs.

Several well-known legal and national security insiders are in the mix as President-elect Joe Biden and his advisers assess how to implement what they call reforms at the Justice Department.

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as his defense secretary. If confirmed, Austin would be the first African American to head the Pentagon.

Austin will bring to the Pentagon decades of military experience. He would be the first African American to lead the department.

The state official and former congressman would enter the job with a historic public health crisis raging. In his current role, Becerra has fought Trump efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Brian Deese led President Barack Obama's auto rescue and managed Obama's climate policy. But then Deese went to work for an investment giant so many progressives are opposed to his appointment.

Three sources in Trump's orbit tell NPR he is considering running for a second term as president in 2024. Trump himself alluded to it at a private party this week.

The president-elect has emphasized the elevation of women to key roles in his incoming administration.

President Trump took questions from reporters for the first time since he lost the election to Joe Biden. He said he'll leave the White House on Jan. 20, but made clear he won't concede.

President Trump took questions from reporters on Thursday for the first time since Election Day. He made it clear he's in no mood to concede.

Biden says he'll name someone to coordinate domestic climate policies across the government. Together with climate envoy John Kerry, it will give climate a higher profile than in past administrations.

President Trump has not conceded the election, but now that the transition is underway, President-elect Joe Biden can access the same brief about national security threats that Trump receives.

President Trump pardoned turkeys on Tuesday, making his first public comments since acknowledging that the transition is going ahead. Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his cabinet picks.

Joe Biden plans to nominate the former Federal Reserve chair as his Treasury secretary. She would play a leading role in helping the economy recover from the pandemic.

President Trump has still not conceded to President-elect Joe Biden nearly three weeks after Election Day. Trump's campaign is losing its challenges in court, while Biden turns to Cabinet picks.

Blinken served as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama. The announcement came along with a number of other national security picks.

The president has made it clear that he will spend his remaining days in the White House in the same way he spent much of his term in office: fighting.

President Trump met with Michigan's top Republican lawmakers. His legal team has sought to overturn election results there and in other key states that he lost.

The White House coronavirus task force briefed reporters on Thursday for the first time in months as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to avoid travel.

John Jones previously served as chief of staff to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. "He's a well-regarded person in Democratic circles," one aide told NPR.