Trump campaign distances itself from attorney Sidney Powell: Transition updates

Biden took questions following remarks on his efforts to work with governors to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and addressed the Trump administration's stonewalling by not recognizing him as the president-elect. 

Asked by ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce what the American people are witnessing as Trump continues to fight election results with legal battles, Biden paused for a moment before deeming it "totally irresponsible."

“Let me choose my words here,” he said. “I think they're witnessing incredible irresponsibility. Incredibly damaging messages being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions. And I think it is -- well, I don't know his motive, but I just think it's totally irresponsible.”

Bruce followed up with whether Biden was concerned the American people might, in turn, question the legitimacy of his administration, but Biden said he wasn't, arguing polling has shown the vast majority of Americans believe in the legitimacy of the election.

However, a recent Monmouth poll found that only 18% of Republican-identifying respondents said they felt Biden won fair and square, while 70% said they felt he won due to voter fraud.

“Most of the Republicans I've spoken to, including some of the governors, think this is debilitating. It sends a horrible message about who we are as a country,” Biden said.

The president-elect said his team has not ruled out legal action against the General Services Administration, but argued that would take a lot of time that he instead hopes to spend building consensus.

Biden weighed in on Trump inviting members of the Michigan state legislature to the White House Friday as the president seeks to overturn results in the state, questioning the legality of the meeting.

“It's going to be another incident where he will go down in history as being one of the most irresponsible presidents in American history," Biden said. "It's just out of the -- not even within the norm at all. There's questions whether it's even legal. But it's going to be interesting to see who shows up in this call to meet with the leadership."

He also revealed that he and his team have decided who will serve as the treasury secretary and said it would be announced just before or after Thanksgiving, adding that it will be someone who will be accepted across the Democratic Party.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle, John Verhovek, Averi Harper and Beatrice Peterson

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris kicked off her and Biden's afternoon remarks by outlining the call they had with the National Governors Association’s Executive Committee, saying the bipartisan group of governors focused on COVID-19 and how to make testing and vaccines free and accessible to the public.

Drawing from her experience in local and state government, Harris said she appreciates the critical role governors play in American life and assured them that they’ll have “partners in the White House starting on Jan. 20."

“President-Elect Biden and I will make sure you have the resources and support you need to save lives and help get our economy back on track. And we will also make sure that our federal state, local and tribal authorities are working closely together so we can tackle these challenges as effectively as possible,” Harris said, before introducing the president-elect. 

Biden began by saying all of the governors on his call, five Democrats and five Republicans, recognized his win -- even if the Trump administration still refuses to, thus hindering his access to pandemic planning.

“Each of the governors emphasized that we might be Democrats and Republicans, but we're all American first. They congratulated us heartily for the -- our win,” Biden said. 

Biden said the group discussed a nationwide mask mandate, a practice he has pushed and asked governors to work on him with, before later reinforcing that he would not impose a total national shutdown.

A Biden transition official confirms the president-elect is meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday in Wilmington, Delaware.

It's their first in-person meeting since the election.

The three spoke over the phone last week and discussed how to pass another COVID-19 relief bill to help Americans struggling amid the pandemic.

-ABC News' Mary Bruce

The Trump campaign has so far filed at least 19 lawsuits across five states since Election Day. These suits have had 15 unfavorable outcomes so far (either denied, dismissed, withdrawn, etc.), and at least seven of those rulings are being appealed. The campaign has had one favorable outcome that still stands. There have been no rulings yet in three cases.

Here's a breakdown:

Michigan - 2 lawsuits total
Lawsuit 1: Lost (denied, pending appeal).
Lawsuit 2: Withdrawn.

Georgia - 1 lawsuit total
Lawsuit 1: Lost. (denied and dismissed).

Nevada - 3 lawsuits total
Lawsuit 1: Withdrawn and remanded.
Lawsuit 2: Denied.
Lawsuit 3: No outcome yet.

Arizona - 2 lawsuits total
Lawsuit 1: Dismissed.
Lawsuit 2: Dismissed.

Pennsylvania - 11 lawsuits total
Lawsuit 1: Lost (currently on appeal).
Lawsuit 2: Lost (currently on appeal).
Lawsuit 3: Lost (currently on appeal).
Lawsuit 4: Lost (currently on appeal).
Lawsuit 5: Lost (currently on appeal).
Lawsuit 6: Lost (currently on appeal).
Lawsuit 7: Lost.
Lawsuit 8: Win.
Lawsuit 9: Lost.
Lawsuit 10: No outcome yet.
Lawsuit 11: No outcome yet.

-ABC News' Matthew Mosk, Alex Hosenball and Olivia Rubin