President-elect Joe Biden, addressing the country on Tuesday, said Trump’s failure to acknowledge his victory and concede “does not change the dynamic” of his transition planning, but called it “an embarrassment” that will “not help the president’s legacy”.
He added that Trump instructing agencies to block his transition is “not of much consequence”, but added that federal funds he will receive when his victory is recognised by the General Services Administration would be helpful.
“We’re going to be going moving along in a consistent manner, putting together our administration, White House, and reviewing who we’re going to pick for cabinet positions. And nothing’s going to stop that,” Biden said. “And and so I’m confident that the fact that they’re not willing to acknowledge we won at this point is not of much consequence in our planning and what we’re able to do between now and January 20th.”
He added that nothing would stop the transfer of power after the election.
Republican Senator Rob Portman said in a statement on Tuesday that Biden is leading in enough states to win the US presidency, and Trump’s campaign must produce evidence to support allegations of election fraud,
The Ohio lawmaker added that Trump has the right to pursue legal challenges on the results, including seeking recounts, but must produce evidence to support any allegations of widespread fraud.
He added that he hoped states and courts would move “expeditiously” to resolve the matter.
To date, only a handful of Republican elected officials have publicly acknowledged Biden’s victory, as Trump continues to refuse to concede.
Biden announces agency review teams
Joe Biden has released the names of his agency review teams, the groups of transition staffers who are typically afforded access to key agencies in the current administration to help smooth the transfer of US presidential power.
Biden’s transition team released the names of hundreds of people on the teams. They will collect and review information ranging from budgetary and staffing decisions, pending regulations and other work in progress from current staff at the federal departments.
It remains unclear, however, how much engagement the Biden transition staffers will have with their counterparts at the various government agencies because the Trump administration has yet to formally recognise Biden as the president-elect. A formal recognition from the General Services Administration is needed to allow Biden’s transition staff access to federal workers and much of the information they will need.
