The Winding Road From Trump to Biden – NRK Urix – Foreign News & Documentaries

More than two weeks after Joe Biden was named the next president of the United States, he was finally allowed to begin the formal transition from Republican to Democratic government.

• 1. Why is this happening now?

It is the federal General Services Administration (GSA) agency that decides whether the next president will have access to information and funds to begin the transition to a new government.

This usually happens immediately after the election and after the losing candidate has acknowledged defeat.

GSA chief Emily Murphy has been under heavy pressure to give Biden the green light to begin the intensive work of establishing a new government.

On Monday he finally did. In a letter to Biden, he writes that he appears to have won the election and is therefore releasing $ 7,300,000, or just over 650 million kronor, for work on the change of power.

Murphy further writes that he concluded that Biden probably won the election, after “recent events related to lawsuits and approval of election results.”

Michigan on Monday ruled that Biden had won the state, and a federal judge in Pennsylvania on Saturday rejected a Trump campaign lawsuit that tried to stop approval of the election result there. On Tuesday, Biden was confirmed as the winner in Pennsylvania and Nevada.

• 2. Why is this important?

The fact that Emily Murphy and the GSA now recognize Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election means that the extensive work of transition to a new government can finally begin.

Now Biden and his people have access to security information and a good amount of money. Therefore, they are beginning to coordinate the formal inauguration with the Trump administration. Much of the administration and bureaucracy in Washington DC will be replaced: about 4,000 positions.

• 3. What is Joe Biden doing now?

Biden is busy appointing ministers to his new government. Among other things, it is clear that he will appoint former Deputy Foreign Minister Tony Blinken as his Foreign Minister. Former central bank governor Janet Yellen will be sought as the new finance minister.

Biden has also assembled a task force to address the corona pandemic, which is still raging in the United States. According to Johns Hopkins University, the country averages 165,000 new cases of infection each day, an increase of more than 70 percent in two weeks.

In addition to devising a plan to deal with the pandemic and the launch of vaccines, Biden and his people can also begin to familiarize themselves with security and intelligence issues.

Joe Biden will formally take over as the 46th president of the United States on January 20 of next year, at a inauguration ceremony in Washington DC.

• 4. How does Donald Trump react?

President Donald Trump has said that GSA Director Emily Murphy “must do whatever it takes.”

He has not yet recognized the electoral defeat.

It is the first time in modern times that an American president has made such serious accusations against the American electoral system.

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Republicans criticize Trump: – An embarrassment to the nation

Donald Trump is president until Joe Biden is installed. Traditionally, an outgoing president remains in the background and does not take major new initiatives. But Trump is not a traditional president and has presidential powers until January 20, 2021.

That means you can appoint judges, hire and fire bureaucrats, and spend public money. Trump remains the top leader of the United States Armed Forces.

It has yet to go through Congress, and those presidential orders may take time to pass.

Donald Trump is expected to spend his time forgiving more former employees. According to the New York Times, he plans to pardon former security adviser Michael Flynn, who in 2017 admitted to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russia before Trump was installed as president.

It is not uncommon for an outgoing president to spend his last weeks in power pardoning prisoners. Barack Obama, for example, pardoned Chelsea Manning and 200 others before resigning as president.

• 6. Does this mean that the elections have already been decided?

Formally, it is not until December 14 that the electors of the different states vote and the new president is formally recognized. Biden won 302 electoral votes, against 232 for Donald Trump.

It is considered highly unlikely that the majority will not vote for Joe Biden. It is also considered unlikely that any of Trump’s remaining demands could change the outcome of the election.