Trump-Biden transition updates: Trump continues to tout he won election at Ga. rally

White House press secretary Kaleigh McEnany in an afternoon briefing downplayed comments from Attorney General William Barr that the Justice Department has not found evidence of voter fraud on a scale that could change the outcome of the election even as Trump vows to continue contesting results in court.

"The president has said that he believes all legal votes should be counted and all illegal votes should not be counted. And in fact, the campaign is pursuing that litigation. I can't get into the details of that litigation here, but they do still have active cases in Nevada, in Wisconsin," said McEnany, who has operated as a campaign spokesperson in a "volunteer" capacity.

Confronted with the fact that Barr's comments undermine the Trump legal team’s claims of fraud on a massive scale, McEnany quoted Barr also saying in Tuesday's interview with the Associated Press that that the Justice Department is not involved in campaign litigation and therefore wouldn’t have access to its claims. 

“The attorney general was speaking to what had come before his desk," McEnany said.

As of Tuesday, Trump and his allies have lost at least 31 different cases brought to contest the election.

Asked directly, McEnany wouldn't say whether the president still has confidence in Barr.

“The president, if he has any personnel announcement, you will be the first to know it,” she said. 

McEnany said she hadn’t spoken with the president about Barr’s comment. She also noted that a spokesperson for the Department of Justice released a statement following Barr’s interview reiterating the Justice Department’s investigation into fraud is ongoing.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

Former astronaut and retired Navy Capt. Mark Kelly is slated to be sworn in as Arizona's second Democratic senator Wednesday afternoon, shaving the Republican’s majority by one vote for the final weeks of the lame-duck session and marking the first time the state has had two Democrats in the Senate in 67 years.

The ceremony is scheduled to begin on the Senate floor around 2 p.m. He's expected to be escorted to the dais by fellow Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema where Vice President Mike Pence, as Senate president, is expected to swear Kelly in. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, Kelly's wife and activist against gun violence, is expected to attend. After the official swearing-in, Kelly will go to the Old Senate Chamber for a photo op.

Kelly's victory over GOP Sen. Martha McSally helped narrow the Senate GOP's majority from 53-47 to 52-48. The balance of power -- and the promise of Biden passing big ticket legislation he's hoping for -- now hangs on two runoff elections in Georgia. If Democrats win both races, the Senate would be split 50-50, and incoming Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast tie-breaking votes in the upper chamber.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at the State Capitol in Atlanta defended Gabriel Sterling's impassioned and angered plea to Trump Tuesday and said while he may not have used the same language, he was aware of what Sterling was going to say and that he had the "full support" of the secretary and his office.

"He spoke with passion, and he spoke the truth, and it's about time that more people are out there speaking the truth," Raffensperger said. 

Sterling, the state's voting system implementation manager, on Tuesday slammed Trump and GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue for what he deemed their silence on failing to condemn harassment and death threats against election workers amid rampant and largely unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud as the state continues a third count of the presidential vote.

Sterling called on Trump to "step up" and say, "Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence," adding, "Someone's gonna get hurt. Someone's gonna get shot. Someone's gonna get killed."

“All of you who’ve not said a damn word are complicit in this," he said, detailing death threats one Georgia election worker has faced.

A more mild-mannered Raffenspeger also chastised Trump Wednesday for how he responded on Twitter to Sterling's pleas for him to condemn violence.

"Even after this office request that President Trump trying to quell the violent rhetoric, being born out of his continuing claims of winning the states where he obviously lost, he tweeted out, 'Expose the massive voter fraud in Georgia.' This is exactly the kind of language that is at the base of the growing threat environment for election workers who are simply doing their jobs," Raffensperger said. 

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan

After debuting his nominees to lead economic policy posts in the incoming administration Tuesday, Biden is slated to participate in a virtual roundtable with workers and small business owners affected by the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis in Wilmington, Delaware, Wednesday afternoon.

For the third day he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will also receive the President’s Daily Brief, following a 16-day standoff with the Trump administration holding up federally-allocated resources to aid in the transition. 

Although Trump still publicly refuses to concede the loss -- vowing to press forward with legal battles despite a string of losses -- at a White House holiday party Tuesday night, he acknowledged his potential departure from the White House by teasing running again in 2024.

"It's been an amazing four years. We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years," the president can be heard saying on video of the event reviewed by ABC News. Multiple sources also confirmed to ABC News that the president made the remarks.

In advance of Trump leaving office, sources tell ABC News the president is considering doling out preemptive pardons to members of his inner circle. Names for consideration include the president’s three oldest children, his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani -- who has denied asking for one -- and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

It all comes as Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press Tuesday that the Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would tip the results of the presidential election -- directly undercutting allegations being made by Trump and his legal team.