(Headline USA) President Donald Trump blocked government officials from cooperating with Joe Biden’s team on any transition of administrations, despite the presumption of the Democrat’s victory by his own campaign team and the liberal media, since no state has certified a winner and reports of widespread election fraud abound.
Some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, rallied behind Trump’s efforts to fight the election results. Few in the GOP acknowledged Biden’s victory.
The Electoral College is slated to formally confirm the victor on Dec. 14, who will be sworn into office in late January.
On Monday, Barr authorized U.S. attorneys to probe “substantial” allegations of voter irregularities and election fraud.
Biden campaign lawyer Bob Bauer said Barr’s memorandum authorizing investigations “will only fuel the ‘specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims’ he professes to guard against.”
Biden pressed forward with plans to build out his administration, assembling a team of experts to face the surging pandemic. But the federal agency that needs to greenlight the beginnings of the transition of power held off on taking that step.
The possibility of more campaign-style rallies has been discussed, as he tries to keep his supporters fired up despite his defeat. It was possible they would feature his family and top supporters but not the president himself.
The president was given cover to keep fighting by McConnell.
“Our institutions are actually built for this,” McConnell said as he opened the Senate on Monday. “We have the system in place to consider concerns and President Trump is 100% within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer countered that the Republicans’ refusal to accept the election results was “extremely dangerous, extremely poisonous to our democracy.”
“Joe Biden won the election fair and square,” Schumer said.
A few other GOP senators sent tepid nods toward a transition. Frequent Trump foes Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska offered congratulations to Biden, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine noted the Democrat’s “apparent victory.” But most Republican lawmakers were reluctant to speak up about the election.
Adding to the sense of uncertainty, the General Services Administration held off on formally beginning the transition, preventing Biden’s teams from gaining access to federal agencies. An agency spokesperson said late Monday that an “ascertainment” on the winner of the election had not yet been made. Citing what the agency did during the extended 2000 electoral recount, it signaled that it may not do so until Trump concedes or the Electoral College meets next month.
On a call Monday night with reporters, a transition official said the Biden team believes it is time for the GSA administrator to ascertain that Biden is president-elect. The official, who spoke only on anonymity as a ground rule for the call, said legal action is “certainly a possibility” if that doesn’t happen, though there are also other options being considered.
White House officials and Trump political appointees informed career government staffers they were not to begin acting on transition planning until GSA approved it, according to officials familiar with the matter.
In weekly Monday morning all-hands phone calls for Midwest-based employees of the Environmental Protection Agency, mid-level administrators responded to questions about the transition by telling staffers they had no information yet, said Nicole Cantello, an agency employee and president of the Chicago local of a union representing EPA workers.
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
