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US President Donald Trump insists he will not give up his fight to overturn the election results, but across the federal government, preparations are beginning in earnest to support the next administration of President-elect Joe Biden. .
Within hours of the General Services Administration acknowledging Biden’s victory in the Nov. 3 election, career federal officials opened agency doors to hundreds of transition aides ready to prepare for his inauguration on Nov. 20. January.
But Trump, who has not formally relented to Biden, and may never have continued to cast doubt on the vote, despite his own administration’s assessment that it was carried out without widespread fraud, misconduct or interference.
The president has kept a low profile since his defeat. He made a quick appearance in the boardroom on Tuesday (local time) to deliver a little over a minute of comment on the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading at record highs and then delivered the traditional pre-Thanksgiving turkey pardon. Thank you in the Rose Garden at the White House.
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Susan Walsh / AP
President Trump forgives Corn, the national Thanksgiving turkey, at the White House.
He hasn’t answered questions from reporters in weeks.
He was not held back on Twitter regarding the election results.
“Remember, the GSA has been great and (Administrator) Emily Murphy has done a great job, but the GSA does not determine who will be the next president of the United States,” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
His legal team continued to mount seemingly futile challenges to the votes in the battlefield states.
Murphy acted after Michigan certified Biden’s victory in the battlefield state on Monday, and a federal judge in Pennsylvania launched a Trump campaign lawsuit on Saturday to avoid certification in that state. Pennsylvania certified its results, and its 20 voters by Biden, on Tuesday morning, followed hours later by Nevada.
It also came as a growing number of Republicans publicly acknowledged Biden’s victory, after weeks of tolerating Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud.
The Republican president had grown increasingly frustrated with the hectic tactics of his legal team.
In recent days, Trump’s senior advisers, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and White House attorney Pat Cipollone, also encouraged Trump to allow the transition to begin, telling the president that he didn’t need to compromise, but that he could no longer justify withholding support for Biden. transition.
Late on Monday, Meadows sent a memo to White House employees saying their work was not done yet and that the administration would “take all necessary actions to ensure the smooth transfer of power,” according to a person who he received it.
At the same time, he warned staff that they are not specifically authorized to interact with Biden’s team against contact with incoming management.
Susan Walsh / AP
Trump’s senior advisers had encouraged Trump to allow the transition to begin, saying he did not need to compromise for it to take place.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Tuesday that within hours of the GSA finding out about Biden’s victory, his agency’s top career official was in contact with Biden’s team to coordinate briefings. , including the Trump administration’s planning to distribute vaccines for Covid-19. .
“We are immediately receiving all the transition informational materials prepared previously,” said Azar.
“We will ensure coordinated briefings with them to make sure they get whatever information they feel they need.”
The official managing the Pentagon’s transition work with Biden’s landing team said the first meeting was held virtually Tuesday morning and he expected daily meetings, some virtually and others in person.
The official, Tom Muir, told reporters that normal accommodations have been made for Biden’s team, including the provision of informational materials, video teleconferencing capabilities and office space within the Pentagon.
“HUD career officials have begun the process of scheduling informational meetings with Biden’s transition team in response to their requests,” said a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The GSA measure frees millions of dollars in federal support for Biden’s transition and gives his team access to additional federal office space and support services, including computers, telephones, and secure meeting rooms.
