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The Trump administration also refuses traditional cooperation with the Biden team, denying it the normal transition package that includes office space, a budget and expertise to prepare for the acquisition.
US President Donald Trump visits his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, on November 3, 2020. Image: AFP.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump, who refuses to admit electoral defeat, injected new volatility Monday by firing his defense secretary, while President-elect Joe Biden kept his promise to focus on lifting the country out of the COVID crisis. -19.
With construction already beginning in downtown Washington for the January 20 groundbreaking ceremony, an awkward and potentially chaotic transition period is underway.
Trump, in a move unprecedented for a U.S. president, insists he stole the November 3 election.
“This election is far from over,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at a news conference on the claim.
Yet Trump’s attorneys have so far only presented flimsy evidence to back up his court challenges alleging wrongdoing, while media projections based on near-complete results show that Biden won convincingly.
Even Fox News, which has often given Trump an undisputed spokesperson during his tenure, backed away from the McEnany event, with host Neil Cavuto telling viewers the allegations were so ill-founded: “I can’t keep showing you this. “.
The Trump administration also rejects traditional cooperation with the Biden team, denying it the normal transition package that includes office space, a budget and experience to prepare for the acquisition.
Trump announced on Twitter that he had “fired” Defense Secretary Mark Esper, a notable change from such an important position so close to the end of a presidency. Trump and Esper had clashed over the latter’s opposition to suggestions that military personnel be used to quell civil unrest.
Republican Senator Susan Collins broke ranks to acknowledge Biden’s victory, saying, “He loves this country and I wish him every success.”
But for now, most of the heavyweights in the Trump-dominated party, like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, side, at least publicly, with the president.
On Monday, Attorney General Bill Barr gave federal prosecutors blanket authorization to launch investigations into voting irregularities.
“Such investigations and reviews can be carried out if there are clear and seemingly credible allegations of wrongdoing that, if true, could affect the outcome of a federal election,” Barr, a longtime Trump supporter, said in a letter to United States. attorneys across the country.
DUAL COVID TASK GROUPS
Biden, meanwhile, pushed forward with his agenda, beginning with his number one campaign promise to try to control the raging coronavirus pandemic.
He held a first meeting of his own working group on the coronavirus, just hours before the White House version led by Vice President Mike Pence met.
Later, Biden delivered a televised address on the crisis that marked a dramatic departure from Trump’s erratic style.
Where Trump has repeatedly mocked people wearing masks and claimed the virus would go away on its own, Biden told the nation that covering your face is the best way to control the situation.
“I beg you, wear a mask,” he said. “A mask is not a political statement, but it is a good way to start arming the country.”
Biden’s new task force’s speech and announcement came as US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech announced that a jointly developed vaccine had so far shown 90 percent efficacy in preventing infections in trials.
Biden welcomed the news, although he warned that it would be “many more months” before mass vaccination was possible.
Trump, whose handling of the pandemic has often been contrary to scientific advice, also welcomed the news, which boosted stock prices on Wall Street.
“THE BIG STOCK MARKET, THE VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. What GREAT NEWS!” Trump tweeted.
He later claimed on Twitter that news about a vaccine’s progress had been delayed until after the election to harm it.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus struck back inside the White House, and ABC News reported that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson had tested positive.
The man destined to lead Trump’s uphill campaign against the election results, David Bossie, also tested positive, US media reports said.
This comes after Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows allegedly contracted the virus, as did many other staff members and Trump himself over the past few weeks.
LOST IN TRANSITION?
Beyond Covid, Biden’s team said that President-elect and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were conducting “briefings with transition advisers.”
Biden also spoke by phone with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who, like many leaders of America’s traditional allies, has had a roller coaster ride with Trump in Washington.
However, with Trump struggling, it is far from clear how much the incoming administration will be able to do as the clock ticks towards inauguration day.
Trump insists on multiple court challenges to vote counting and allegations of fraud. Legal disputes could take weeks to resolve.
The Trump-appointed head of the General Services Administration, which manages government buildings, is blocking Biden’s team from taxpayer-funded transition assistance.
The GSA cooperation freeze extended to the Defense Department, which said it was refraining from contacting Biden’s transition team as a result.
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