Donald Trump may have finally allowed the transition to Joe Biden to begin, but the president has made clear he is not going down without a fight.
Trump made clear Monday evening that starting the transition, which will allow Biden to get daily securit briefings and be able to communicate with the COVID taskforce, did not mean he was conceding the election.
In a furious tweet, that has been flagged as disputed by Twitter, the current president promised that he was ‘moving full speed ahead’ and swore he would ‘never concede’ to the election results.
‘What does GSA being allowed to preliminarily work with the Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases on what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history?’ he asked, referring to the General Services Administration (GSA).
The agency is responsible for supporting the federal government’s functioning day to day. The GSA are also responsible for presidential transitions – which can only begin once the agency has recognized the ‘apparent successful candidate’. On Monday, the GSA told Biden they were ready to begin the transition.
Trump continued on Monday evening; ‘We are moving full speed ahead. Will never concede to fake ballots & ‘Dominion’.’ Dominion Voting Systems spoke out yesterday saying it is ‘not physically possible’ for its machines to change voter selections.
General Services Administration Chief Emily Murphy told President-elect Biden in a letter that he can start accessing federal resources to begin the presidential transition process early Monday evening.
Murphy released a letter to Biden announcing the move, but dedicated a considerable portion to defending her own reputation and claiming she had been threatened and harassed.
Her letter, notably, does not go so far as ‘ascertain’ that Joe Biden is the winner of the election, despite networks calling the race 16 days ago, numerous states certifying their tallies, and Biden winning 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. She also called him ‘Mr.’ instead of president-elect or vice-president.
It came just over an hour after Michigan certified that Biden had won the state, putting another nail in the coffin of Trump’s bid to overturn the election result.
The move ends much of the controversy over Trump’s refusal to concede and means that a concession would be purely symbolic.
It allows Biden to get the same intelligence briefing as Trump, order FBI background checks on his picks for office and talk to senior officials in key roles – most notably, Dr Tony Fauci.
The Biden-Harris transition team last night welcomed Murphy’s letter, saying it was a ‘needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation’.
‘In the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response’ as well as national security issues, said Biden aide Yohannes Abraham.
But Trump tweeted later on Monday saying he had ordered Murphy to start the transition ‘for the sake of the country’ and claimed he was sure he would win ‘the good fight.’
