Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Exclusive: Biden taps former EPA chief for White House climate coordinator role -sources President-elect Joe Biden will name Gina McCarthy, former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration to a new role leading domestic climate policy coordination at the White House, two sources familiar with the process said on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. Senate leader McConnell acknowledges Biden victory; laments Trump defeat

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, on Tuesday congratulated Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their Nov. 3 election victories, ending his long silence on the outcome of the presidential race. In remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell acknowledged the Democrats' win of the White House following Monday's formal result issued by the Electoral College. Moderna nears U.S. authorization for COVID-19 shot with FDA staff endorsement

Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine appeared set for regulatory authorization this week after U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff endorsed it as safe and effective in documents released Tuesday. The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 300,000 people in the U.S. and the government is counting on the Moderna shot to help fulfill its promise to inoculate 20 million this month. After Electoral College vote, White House says Trump still involved in legal challenge

President Donald Trump is still involved in legal challenges to the 2020 election, White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said on Tuesday when asked how the president responded to the Electoral College vote confirming Democrat Joe Biden as the U.S. president-elect. Trump, a Republican, has declined to concede the election to Biden, who will be inaugurated as president on Jan. 20. New Mexico's Deb Haaland emerges as Biden's top choice to lead U.S. Interior -sources

U.S. Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico appears to be President-elect Joe Biden's top choice to head the Interior Department, three informed sources said, a pick that would make her the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency. The position would give her authority over a department that employs more than 70,000 people across the United States and oversees more than 20% of the nation's surface, including tribal lands and national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite. Biden hits campaign trail in Georgia after top Republicans acknowledge his win

Hours after speaking with Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and vowing to try to work together, President-elect Joe Biden urged Georgians on Tuesday to oust McConnell as majority leader by electing the two Democratic candidates in Jan. 5 Senate runoffs. In a speech that marked his return to the campaign trail a day after the Electoral College confirmed his Nov. 3 election victory, Biden, a Democrat, laid out the stakes of the twin contests in no uncertain terms, warning that leaving the Senate in Republican hands could threaten much of his policy agenda. Biden to pick former Michigan governor Granholm to be energy secretary -sources

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to pick former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to be secretary of energy in his administration, according to two people familiar with the decision. Granholm, 61, was Michigan's first female governor, serving two terms in the battleground state, from 2003 to 2011. She worked with Biden, who was vice president under former President Barack Obama, on the 2009 bailout of automobile manufacturers General Motors Co and Chrysler. Top U.S. Congress leaders meet on COVID-19 aid, spending, agree to meet again later Tuesday

Top U.S. congressional leaders were cautiously upbeat after meeting on Tuesday to try to finalize a government funding bill and end a standoff on coronavirus relief, and they agreed to get together later in the evening, aides said. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, hosted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, as well as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy at the meeting on Capitol Hill. U.S. finalizes shower head rule after Trump complaints about hair rinsing

The U.S. Energy Department on Tuesday finalized two rules easing energy standards on consumer fixtures and appliances, including one on shower heads after President Donald Trump complained some showers don't adequately rinse his hair. The rules are part of Trump's last-minute efforts to roll back rules that limit production or consumption of oil, gas and coal as part of his "energy dominance" policy. Some advisers urge Trump not to veto defense bill: source

U.S. President Donald Trump is being urged by some advisers not to go ahead with his plan to veto a major defense bill because it is all but certain to be overridden by the U.S. Congress, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. Trump has threatened to veto the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a $740-billion bill setting policy for the Department of Defense, because it does not repeal a law that protects social media companies from liability for what appears on their platforms. Exclusive: Biden taps former EPA chief for White House climate coordinator role -sources

President-elect Joe Biden will name Gina McCarthy, former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration to a new role leading domestic climate policy coordination at the White House, two sources familiar with the process said on Tuesday. McCarthy will lead inter-agency efforts to coordinate domestic climate change policy and serve as a counterpart to John Kerry, who Biden appointed as his special envoy on climate change.