The president-elect emphasized how he would handle the pandemic response.
Joe Biden is set to become the 46th president of the United States, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump. ABC News characterized Joe Biden as the apparent winner of his home state of Pennsylvania, putting him over the 270 vote threshold needed to capture the presidency.
The hard-fought battle against the president was set against the backdrop of racial unrest and the coronavirus pandemic and bitter divisions among the electorate.
Trump had falsely declared on election night, when he held a lead in several key states, that he won the contest and alleged without evidence, after the count started to swing the other way, that the election was being stolen from him and that fraud had been committed.
Painting the election as a "battle for the soul of the nation," Biden won on a message of unity over division, compassion over anger, and reality over what he called Trump's "wishful thinking" as the coronavirus pandemic cast a heavy shadow over the campaign.
The 2020 election has shattered voting records with votes totaling 147 million and counting, surpassing the 138 million who voted in 2016.
Joe Biden visited the grave of his son Beau after attending church with his family on Sunday morning.
Biden was seen walking with his daughter Ashley and grandson Hunter, Beau’s son, toward Beau’s grave after departing church in Wilmington, Delaware, just before 11:30 a.m., according to a pool report.
This was the first time Biden visited his son's grave since Election Day.
The year 2020 has been one of the most tumultuous in history -- with a pandemic, an economic collapse, a searing racial reckoning and wild leadership out of the Oval Office.
Biden launched his campaign as a battle for the "soul of America." Winning, though, doesn't come close to ending that battle -- and will test both Biden and his fellow Americans through what promises to be a tense period in the nation and beyond.
Biden's first statement as president-elect sought to strike a note of unity.
"Democracy beats deep in the heart of America," he said in the statement released by his campaign. "With the campaign over, it's time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. It's time for America to unite. And to heal."
-ABC News Political Director Rick Klein
The Biden-Harris transition team launched its full transition website, BuildBackBetter.com, and social media channels to make sure the American people “know where to go to learn more information about plans for a Biden-Harris Administration."
Agency review teams will begin their duties this week, which will include gaining access to federal agencies at the appropriate point, the campaign said. Biden will also launch his COVID-19 task force, which he announced Saturday in his address to the nation.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Benjamin Siegel
Sources familiar with President-elect Biden’s plans say he is discussing signing a flurry of executive orders once he takes office to reverse some of President Trump’s policies over the past four years.
There have been discussions about rejoining the Paris Climate Accords and World Health Organization and repealing the travel ban, sources said, emphasizing that executive action is only one vehicle to implement Biden’s agenda and the priority will be to work with Congress.
A Biden transition official said, "there have been no transition decisions made and we look forward to working with Congress to implement Biden-Harris policies.”
The Washington Post first reported the news about the series of executive orders.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders
