US Election: President-elect Joe Biden is named the winner, allowing for formal transition to the White House

The General Services Administration has formally designated President-elect Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the November 3 US election, and the agency has cleared the way for cooperation in a transition of power.

The move allows Biden to coordinate with US federal agencies on plans to take office on January 20. Trump, who had refused to concede the election, said in a tweet that he is instructing his team to cooperate in the formal transition, but promises to hold on until the fight.

The move came after President Donald Trump suffered even more legal and procedural defeats in his futile effort to reverse the election on baseless allegations of fraud.

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Trump’s effort to avoid the inevitable, the formal recognition of his defeat, faces increasingly tough resistance from the courts and fellow Republicans as there are only three weeks left until the Electoral College meets to certify the victory of Biden.

Time and time again, Trump’s challenges and baseless accusations of conspiracy and widespread fraud have been dismissed as states move forward in confirming their results.

An official said Administrator Emily Murphy made the decision after Trump’s efforts to subvert the vote failed in the battle states, most recently Michigan, that certified Biden’s victory on Monday (local time).

“Please know that I made my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. I was never pressured directly or indirectly by any Executive Branch official, including those working in the White House or GSA, regarding the substance or timing of my decision, ” Murphy wrote in a letter to Biden.

Trump tweeted shortly after his letter was released: “Our case continues FIRMLY, we will continue the good… fight, and I believe we will prevail! However, in the best interest of our country, I recommend that Emily and her team do whatever it takes regarding the initial protocols and I have told my team to do the same. ”

Yohannes Abraham, the executive director of Biden’s transition, said in a statement that the decision “is a necessary step to begin addressing the challenges facing our nation, including controlling the pandemic and recovering our economy.”

He added: “In the coming days, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the response to the pandemic, have a full accounting of our national security interests, and gain a full understanding of the Trump administration’s efforts to empty government agencies “.

Michigan’s vote certification closed the doors to Trump’s moves

Michigan election officials on Monday certified Biden’s victory by 154,000 votes in the state, with the State Canvassing Board, which has two Republicans and two Democrats, confirming the state results with a 3-0 vote with one Republican abstention.

Trump and his allies had hoped to block the vote to allow time for a ballot audit in Wayne County, where Trump has claimed without evidence that he was a victim of fraud.

Biden crushed the president by more than 330,000 votes there.

Under Michigan law, Biden got all 16 electoral votes. Biden won the state by 2.8 percentage points, a higher margin than in other states where Trump was contesting the results such as Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

“The duty of the board today is very clear,” said Aaron Van Langevelde, Republican vice president.

“We have a duty to certify this election based on these results. That is very clear. “

Some Trump allies had expressed hope that state legislators could intervene in the selection of Republican voters in states that do not certify. That remote and legally dubious gamble was no longer possible in Michigan.

State Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement after the vote that it was “time to put this election behind us.”

“President-elect Biden won the state of Michigan by more than 154,000 votes, and he will be our next president on January 20.”

Separately, more than 100 former Republican national security officials, including former Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, former CIA Director Michael Hayden and former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, had previously said in a statement that Trump’s refusal to concede and allowing an orderly transition “constitutes a serious threat” to the democratic process in the United States.

Biden’s nominees for key positions

Earlier in the day, Biden on Tuesday appointed Obama administration veterans to high-level national security positions, signaling a sea change from the Trump administration’s “America First” policies that disparaged international alliances, diplomats career and other veteran government officials.

Biden noted that climate change would be an important focus for his administration by appointing John Kerry, the former secretary of state and presidential candidate, as his special presidential envoy for climate.

Unsurprisingly, Biden chose Antony Blinken to be his secretary of state, a role equivalent to that of foreign minister, and Jake Sullivan to be his national security adviser.

Other nominees include Alejandro Mayorkas, the first Latino and immigrant nominated to serve as secretary of homeland security.

Biden has chosen veteran diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who is black, to be his ambassador to the United Nations and Avril Haines to be his director of national intelligence. Haines would be the first woman to hold this position.