Two weeks after Biden was named president-elect, Trump faces severe setbacks



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PRESSURE TO INITIATE FORMAL TRANSITION

Biden, who became president-elect Nov. 7 after his victory in Pennsylvania led major television networks to call the elections, was supposed to spend Saturday meeting with vice president-elect Kamala Harris and transition advisers.

Trump will participate virtually this weekend in the last summit of the 20 largest world economies (G20) of his term.

Trump’s “America First” nationalist approach has often created waves at multilateral summits like the G20, and many US allies have quietly welcomed the upcoming leadership change in Washington.

Pressure for Trump to begin the formal transition process has mounted, with some more Republicans expressing doubts about his unfounded claims of fraudulent voting.

There is a “right way and a wrong way” for Trump to challenge what he sees as electoral irregularities, said Susan Collins, the Maine senator, in a statement. “The right way is to collect the evidence and present legal challenges in our courts. The wrong way is to try to pressure state election officials.”

The General Services Administration, led by a Trump appointee, has yet to acknowledge Biden’s victory, preventing his team from gaining access to government office space and funds normally provided to an incoming administration.

Critics say Trump’s refusal to concede has serious implications for national security and the fight against the coronavirus, which has killed more than 250,000 Americans.

With no government funding, Biden’s team increased its fundraising for the transition on Friday. Having received more than an initial $ 7 million goal largely from wealthy donors, they turned to their campaign’s vast mailing list of small donors and asked, according to a fundraising note, for contributions as small as $ 25.

Despite the fact that Biden’s team remains unable to access government resources and experts to help take over the US government’s $ 4 trillion administration on inauguration day, Trump officials have made unexpected changes to programs, policies. and agencies that could affect the incoming administration.

The Treasury Department’s surprise demand that the Federal Reserve repay hundreds of billions of dollars in credit designed to support business loans drew a strong response from Biden’s team on Friday, calling it “deeply irresponsible,” given the Increasingly accelerated Covid cases and new blockages. .

Reuters



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