Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden has discussed the need for passing a new COVID-19 relief package with two top Democrat officials in Congress.

Biden, who was declared by major news organizations winner in the presidential election, spoke by phone with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Biden emphasized his hopes for a coronavirus stimulus package during the upcoming "lame-duck session" of Congress.

The "lame duck" session takes place after the election, but before the current Congress reaches the end of its constitutional term in January. It is when newly elected leaders will start serving.

Biden has discussed with Pelosi and Schumer the surging COVID-19 cases and the financial needs of Americans. They tackled economic relief for working families and small businesses and support for state and local governments trying to keep frontline workers on the payroll. 

Officials from both parties have both hoped to pass a stimulus before the end of the year. However, according to a USA Today report, the leaders have not met halfway from key stances that kept them at a dead-end for months.

President Donald Trump is currently focused on contesting election results, while Pelosi has not spoken to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. 

Related story: Five Key Points in Joe Biden's Economic Plans After Election

Mnuchin leads the negotiations on a new stimulus package on behalf of the White House even before the election.

Aside from the COVID-19 relief package, the leaders talked about uniting the country through bipartisanship and other issues that could garner both parties' support. These include investments in infrastructure and clean energy.

Meanwhile, Biden also spoke to Pope Francis on Thursday. If Biden is to win the presidency, he shall be the country's second Catholic president, aside from former president John F. Kennedy.

As stated in the readout, Biden wants to work with Pope Francis to address issues like climate change and welcoming immigrants and refugees into the U.S.

Pope Francis congratulated and blessed Biden for his forecasted win of this year's election. Biden has already talked with a number of world leaders.  

Trump After Election

The Trump campaign team has been filing several lawsuits to contest the presidential election results.

Most of the states that received these complaints are battleground states, such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, among others.

The Trump campaign has also tried to allude to improprieties in a major city in a state it won over in 2016 but did not win this year. 

Related story: Here's What Happened so Far on Trump's Election Lawsuits in Some Swing States

In Michigan, the Trump campaign team had pushed on a claim that it lacks transparency in the vote-counting process. However, judges have been unconvinced in two cases, according to an NPR report. 

Judge Timothy Kenny denied a request to delay certification of election results, saying the court found no evidence to support these allegations. Judge Cynthia Stephen also denied a separate request to stop the state's tally.

"On this factual record, I have no basis to find that there's a substantial likelihood of success on the merits as relates to this defendant, nor am I convinced that there is a clear legal duty on behalf of anyone who is properly before this court to manage this issue," Stephen noted in an NPR report.

White House press secretary, Kayleigh MacEnany, said in a press conference on Monday that they just started the process of getting an accurate and honest vote count.