Biden set to address plans for economy as pandemic rages

President-elect Joe Biden is set to outline his plans to revive the nation's economy in the midst of a global health crisis on Monday as he pushes forward with his transition to the White House despite President Donald Trump's refusal to accept the election results.

President-elect Joe Biden is set to outline his plans to revive the nation's economy in the midst of a global health crisis on Monday as he pushes forward with his transition to the White House despite President Donald Trump's refusal to accept the election results. Biden, who will take office on Jan 20, is scheduled to speak alongside Vice President-elect Kamala Harris from his makeshift headquarters in Delaware. Before the speech, they will meet virtually with a collection of labor and business leaders.

“As you know, our work is far from over," Biden's transition team said in a statement ahead of the afternoon address. “It will mostly be work of a different kind — of governing, of building and working to lift our nation, our economy, our communities, and each other back to where we were before this pandemic, and beyond.” Biden, a Democrat, has vowed to spend trillions of dollars to reinvigorate US manufacturing, expand health care coverage and combat climate change, among other priorities. But his chief priority remains controlling the coronavirus pandemic, which is surging to record levels and forcing state and local leaders to implement new rounds of restrictions on local businesses. The president-elect has so far tried to sidestep difficult questions about whether he might support a short-term national lockdown to arrest the surge of coronavirus cases. Since defeating Trump, Biden has devoted most of his public remarks to encouraging Americans to wear masks and embrace social distancing measures.