“President-elect Joe Biden, a state-college graduate who was once the poorest man in the U.S. Senate, is facing accusations of elitism from Republicans after defeating a billionaire incumbent with an Ivy League degree — a sign of how the politics of populism have been upended and redefined by President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.

“In recent days, Republican lawmakers have sought to describe Biden’s early Cabinet selections as well-heeled and well-pedigreed but out of touch with the kinds of problems facing everyday Americans.”

“After Biden won the presidency in part by claiming a larger share of college-educated suburban voters, some of his GOP foes see his early moves as an opportunity to brand him as an elitist president catering to the nation’s coastal professionals at the expense of its heartland laborers.”

President Trump refused on Thanksgiving to say if he will attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, the HuffPost reports.

Said Trump: “I know the answer to that, but I don’t want to say it yet.”

Jill and Joe Biden writing for CNN:

“This year, our turkey will be smaller and the clatter of cooking a little quieter. There will be no family walks in the cold or playful bickering amongst the grandkids. Like millions of Americans, we are temporarily letting go of the traditions we can’t do safely.”

“It is not a small sacrifice. These moments with our loved ones — time that’s lost — can’t be returned. Yet, we know it’s the price of protecting each other and one we don’t pay alone. Isolated in our own dining rooms and kitchens, scattered from coast to coast, we are healing together.”

President-elect Joe Biden is considering Roger Ferguson, former vice-chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, for National Economic Council director, CNBC reports.

He is also considering regulatory veteran Gary Gensler, who worked for both the Obama and Clinton administrations, for Deputy Treasury Secretary.

Another name being floated for a top economic policy post is Kenneth Chenault, the former CEO of American Express.

“President-elect Joe Biden is leaning towards naming former senior Obama administration official and current investment executive Brian Deese his top economic adviser in the White House, although pushback from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party could still derail the pick,” Politico reports.

“President-elect Joe Biden is leaning toward naming former Obama administration national security adviser Tom Donilon as his CIA director,” Politico reports.

“The choice for the spymaster role is one of the toughest facing Biden as he puts together his national security team. The CIA has found itself uncomfortably embroiled in domestic politics under Donald Trump, accused by the outgoing president and his allies of seeking to tar him as an agent of Moscow and representing a “deep state” bent on undermining his policies. Whomever Biden picks will also confront an emboldened Russia and an increasingly aggressive China, along with transnational threats like climate change and pandemics.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, told McClatchy that he expects a role in the incoming administration and would serve in a senior position if called upon by President-elect Joe Biden.

“Fauci said he assumes he will stay in his job as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a position he has held since 1984. But he would ‘seriously consider’ serving in another capacity, such as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or as secretary of Health and Human Services, if Biden asked.”

President-elect Joe Biden downplayed the prospect of pursuing investigations of President Trump after he leaves office, USA Today reports.

Said Biden: “I will not do what this president does and use the Justice Department as my vehicle to insist that something happened.”

Wall Street Journal: “Ms. Yellen’s resume was a draw for Mr. Biden. No past Treasury secretary has served both as leader of the Federal Reserve, which she did from 2014 to 2018, and head of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, her job from 1997 to 1999 in the Clinton administration.”

“Yet her previous experiences with Washington politics were insulated by comparison with the task at hand. Compared with the Treasury Department, the Fed is a cloistered and academic institution. At Treasury, politics is often one of the first considerations.”

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL) is interested in being President-elect Joe Biden’s Interior secretary, telling the Washington Post the position is “just a natural fit for me.”

The Hill: “The former Illinois lawmaker, who also served as ambassador to New Zealand in the late 1990s following her single Senate term, would be an unusual choice to lead the Interior Department given her lack of experience on environmental issues.”

President-elect Joe Biden will deliver a Thanksgiving address on Wednesday, The Hill reports.

The live-streamed speech would touch on the “shared sacrifices Americans are making this holiday season” while delivering a message “that we can and will get through the current crisis together.”

“Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar are boosting a petition against Joe Biden nominating his former chief of staff to a new role in his administration, calling Bruce Reed a ‘deficit hawk’ and criticizing his past support for Social Security and Medicare cuts,” Axios reports.

“Progressives are mounting their pressure campaign after the president-elect did not include any of their favored candidates in his first slate of Cabinet nominees, and they are serious about installing some of their allies, blocking anyone who doesn’t pass their smell test — and making noise if they are not heard.”

Three weeks after the election, the White House has given formal approval for President-elect Joe Biden to receive the President’s Daily Brief, CNN reports.