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

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris rolled out key members of her incoming staff Thursday morning, adding to her so far all-female team of which four out of five are women of color. 

Hartina "Tina" Flournoy, who is currently serving as chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, has been tapped as Harris’ chief of staff. She previously served as chief counsel in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel under Bill Clinton and as an assistant to the president for public policy at the American Federation of Teachers.

"Tina brings a strong commitment to serving the American people, and her leadership will be critical as we work to overcome the unprecedented challenges facing our nation," Harris said in a statement announcing the picks.

Rohini Kosoglu, who previously served as a senior adviser to Harris on the campaign and on the transition, has been selected as Harris' domestic policy adviser. She was Harris’ chief of staff in the Senate and was the first South Asian woman to serve in that role.

Nancy McEldowney, a former ambassador to Bulgaria with more than 30 years of experience in the U.S. Foreign Service, will serve as Harris’ national security adviser.

The announcement follows Ashley Etienne being named as Harris’ communications director and Symone Sanders as her chief spokeswoman.

-ABC News' Averi Harper

With President-elect Joe Biden preparing to unveil his picks to lead agencies on the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus, Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island has emerged as a potential selection to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, sources tell ABC News.

The Harvard, Oxford and Yale-educated governor has long been rumored as someone who could enter a Biden administration after she was vetted for vice president. Raimondo, who was elected in 2014, was seen ahead of the election as a possible nominee for Treasury or Commerce secretary, given a Wall Street background that has made her a target for progressives hoping to influence Biden’s incoming administration.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was also vetted for vice president, is seen as another leading contender for HHS secretary, given her work leading a state during the pandemic, and serving as New Mexico's health secretary earlier in her career. She has also been boosted by Latino Democrats and advocates who want Biden's cabinet to reflect the diversity of the coalition that helped him win the White House.

Biden's pick for HHS secretary, and other coronavirus and health-related roles, could be unveiled as early as next week, sources told ABC News.

A transition spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about Biden's consideration of the governors or the timing of any announcements. Raimondo and Lujan Grisham's offices did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

-ABC News' Luke Barr, Ben Siegel, John Santucci, Katherine Faulders, Molly Nagle

Gabriel Sterling, the voting system implementation manager in Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office, told ABC News Prime anchor Linsey Davis Wednesday he believes  Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue have been unfairly put "in a box" by Trump's rhetoric and stance on the election. 

"They don't want to lose the Trump supporters, but by acting this way they're going to lose another chunk of supporters, and so it's a box they can't get out of and the president, it was unfair of him to put them in the situation," Sterling said.

Sterling's comments come a day after his impassioned pleas to the president to stop spreading false claims and conspiracies about the election and to condemn violent threats that have been directed at election officials. 

During that press conference, he called on Perdue and Loeffler to condemn the violent threats, which they did in statements, while also continuing to sow doubt in the election. 

Sterling said he still plans to vote for them because, as a Republican, he said he wants to see the Republican Party maintain control of the Senate. 

Davis pressed him on this, saying his support for the senators makes his "compelling argument ... kind of fall a little hollow." Sterling said it's been somewhat of an internal struggle for him.

"Linsey, being a human being sometimes means dealing with ambiguity in your own mind and trying to balance out what you think is the right thing for the long term versus the right thing when you're in the moment," he said. 

"For the long term of this, I'm gonna continue to fight for the sanity and sanctity of my party, and the policies and values that I want to fight for," he added later.  "I was angry. I still believe that. And I do think if they step up, they can do better." 

Sterling said he would continue defending what he called the "safest, most secure election in the history of the United States, and that he "would go to (his) death bed" believing it was just that. 

"These two senators, they still have time in my opinion to step up and step out and do the right thing," Sterling said.

There were unmistakable signs Wednesday of a growing rift in the Republican Party as allies of Trump -- still fastened to the idea that the 2020 election was rigged -- implored a large crowd of supporters to forget about the pivotal Georgia runoff elections.

Urging Georgians to make clear "you will not vote until you know your votes are secure," Trump ally Sidney Powell told a large and boisterous crowd in Atlanta to focus their energy instead on protesting officials from both parties who she blames for a global conspiracy to throw the election. The widely debunked conspiracy involving the company that makes voting machines is also the premise of her multi-state legal effort.

"There should not be a run-off, at least on Dominion machines," Powell said.

The message could not be further at odds with a national Republican drive to back two GOP candidates who were forced into runoff elections for the state's two U.S. Senate seats -- the outcome of which will determine control of the chamber.

The "Stop the Steal" rally at an Atlanta-area park also featured conservative lawyer Lin Wood, who used the platform to push baseless and outlandish claims about fraud in the 2020 election and generated a huge response with cries for a revolt to put Trump back in office.

Wood, wearing a red MAGA hat, at one point called for the Republican governor of Georgia to be locked up and urged rally-goers to protest outside Brian Kemp's house. The incendiary language came just one day after Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the GOP secretary of state's office in Georgia, made a passionate plea for civility and rebuked Trump for not condemning threats of violence against people overseeing the voting system in his state.

"I want you to go to the governor's mansion, I want you to circle it ... until Brian Kemp comes out and orders a special session of the GA legislature ... then as far as I'm concerned, lock him up," Wood told the excited crowd, which then erupted in "lock him up!" chants.

"I state as a matter of fact you are a criminal," Wood repeated about Kemp. "You need to go to jail."

Powell used similarly inflammatory language in urging the crowd to "flood" Georgia lawmakers with phone calls and letters to protest the certification of the election.

The rally in Georgia was organized by the same "Stop the Steal" group that has been protesting the election results across the country since the election, promoting baseless claims of widespread fraud and urging legislatures to overturn the results.

"Stop the Steal" is a pro-Trump group that quickly emerged flowing the 2020 election fueled by baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. It's led by popular pro-Trump social media activists and has been organizing "stop the steal" rallies around the country calling for the results to be overturned.

Sterling responded to the rally in a press conference Wednesday.

"I find it interesting that somebody who's had a Democrat voting record since 2004 is out there telling Republicans not to vote in an election," he said. "We encourage all voters to vote in an election -- Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green, socialist, you know, Libertarian, whatever party you want to be -- go out and exercise your vote because that's your right as an American."

Sterling also shot down Powell's claims about votes being switched as "not true" and noted that there was also a by-hand audit in the state. 

-ABC News' Will Steakin, Olivia Rubin and Quinn Scanlan