US election briefing: Trump on track to win popular vote as millions of Biden voters abandon Harris | US elections 2024

republican are on track to win the popular vote in a presidential election for the first time in 20 years Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris with 72.5 million votes against nearly 68 million on Wednesday evening, having won the Electoral College earlier in the day.

Although vote counting is still ongoing, Trump is expected to reach the 74 million votes he won in 2020, while Harris is on track to far behind the 81 million votes her predecessor collected in 2020 to let yourself. Joe Biden.

Harris conceded Wednesday afternoon and urged Americans devastated by the outcome “not to despair” but to remain committed and vigilant in the fight to protect American democracy. You can read Harris' concession speech in full here or watch it here.

Harris had already called Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him, as had Biden, who also invited his former opponent to meet with him at the White House. Barack And Michelle Obama made a congratulatory statement the Republicans and praised Harris and his vice president Tim Waltz as “extraordinary public servants who ran a remarkable campaign.”

This is what else happened on Wednesday:

News and updates about the US presidential election

• Special investigators will drop their criminal proceedings against Trump before taking office, as his appointment as president meant they would not face trial. The future of further proceedings against him is uncertain.

• Trump spent his first day as president-elect out of the public eye after addressing his supporters in Florida in the early hours of Wednesday. He will select personnel to serve under his leadership in the coming days and weeks, his campaign said. Check out some of the Cabinet nominees here.

• A senior Republican in the House of Representatives has outlined plans for Trump's first 100 days. In a letter, Steve Scalise said the federal government would “enforce the Trump tax cuts,” “unleash American energy” and “push resources to the southern border” to combat illegal immigration. Scalise and Mike Johnson are running for re-election to their respective positions as House Majority Leader and Speaker of the House.

• Control of the House of Representatives remained unclear Wednesdaywith Republicans ahead but not commanding a majority of 218, according to the Associated Press. Republicans hoped to expand their majority in the Senate.

• More women voted for Harris, but by a smaller majority than their Democratic predecessorsand Trump won a larger share of younger Americans than he did in 2020. Read more key takeaways from the election poll here.

• Where concrete policy proposals were put to the vote, “red” US states passed progressive laws B. Minimum wage protection, while “blue” states voted for conservative measures such as anti-crime initiatives. Abortion approval measures won in seven states, but fell short in three.

• Wall Street and Bitcoin rallied to new record highs and the dollar surged while renewable energy stocks fell as experts warned Trump's victory would set back global climate action. Analysts continue to expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by a quarter point on Thursday amid cooling inflation.

• Mexico's president has assured her country that “there is no reason to worry” despite Trump's threats of punitive tariffs, mass deportations of migrants and US military strikes against organized crime groups on Mexican territory.

• Leaders around the world have congratulated Trump including from the UK, Australia and Europe, while far-right figures celebrated around the world.

• Harris' supporters expressed shock, sadness and disillusionment as they listened to her admission on the campus of Howard University in Washington DC, as Democrats across the country ponder what went wrong. Around the world, Americans living in Britain and Australia joined their local friends and sympathizers in mourning and celebrating the results.

• US pollsters came under fire in the third consecutive presidential election after again underestimating Trump's support and failing to anticipate his emphatic election victory.

Read more of the Guardian's coverage of the 2024 US election