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WILMINGTON, Delaware – President-elect Joe Biden warned Monday of dire consequences if President Donald Trump and his administration continue to refuse to coordinate with his transition team on the coronavirus pandemic and block briefings on national security, policy issues. and vaccination plans.
The comments marked Biden’s harshest comments to date on Trump’s failure to acknowledge his electoral defeat and cooperate with the incoming administration for a peaceful transfer of power.
“More people can die if we don’t coordinate,” Biden told reporters during a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden and his aides, and a small but growing group of Republicans, have emphasized the importance of receiving information about the White House’s efforts to control the pandemic and distribute potential vaccines. The Trump administration is working on its own distribution plan, while Biden’s chief of staff indicated that his transition team will proceed with their own separate planning due to the obstruction.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said it is “absolutely crucial that the apparent president-elect and his team have full access to the planning that has been done” for the distribution of the vaccine.
“It is not an easy matter” to distribute a vaccine, Collins said, so “it is absolutely imperative for public health, that all the planning that has been done and for which the current administration deserves credit, is shared with the new administration. “.
Collins’ comments were echoed Monday by Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Last week, a larger group of Republicans in Congress asked the Trump administration to allow Biden to begin receiving national security reports.
The outgoing president has so far refused to bow to pressure from Democrats or Republicans as he continues to contest his loss to Biden, who surpassed the 270 electoral vote threshold to become president and leads Trump by more than 5.5 million votes. at the national level.
Cooperation between outgoing and incoming administrations, which is traditionally a key component to the peaceful transfer of power in the United States, is of greater importance this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is intensifying dramatically towards the holiday season.
Biden called the vaccine distribution “a huge, huge undertaking” and said that if his team has to wait until he takes office to investigate the government’s distribution plan, they will be “overdue, more than a month, month and medium”. “
Before answering questions, Biden outlined his plans to alleviate inequality and boost the U.S. economy, but said any structural reform depended first on curbing the pandemic and providing more immediate relief.
“Once we turn off the virus and provide economic relief to workers and businesses, then we can start to rebuild better than before,” he said.
Biden has pledged to spend billions of dollars to revitalize American manufacturing, expand healthcare coverage, and combat climate change, among other priorities. But his top priority remains to control the pandemic, which is rising to record levels and forcing state and local leaders to implement new rounds of restrictions on local businesses.
So far, the president-elect has tried to sidestep tough questions about whether he could support a short-term national shutdown to halt the surge in coronavirus cases. Since defeating Trump, Biden has devoted most of his public comments to encouraging Americans to wear masks and adopt social distancing measures.
But the members of its coronavirus advisory board have been more specific. One member, Michael Osterholm, recently suggested a four- to six-week national lockdown with financial aid for Americans whose livelihoods would be affected. He later retracted the comments and it was refuted by two other panelists who said a blanket shutdown should not be considered.
Speaking on “CBS This Morning” on Monday, Osterholm was not asked about a possible shutdown, but said the nation needs “a standard set of principles.”
“Right now, we don’t have a standardized set, so you’re hearing that all these governors and mayors are struggling to try and find the right answer for us, and it would surely help them all, and that’s what I ‘heard from them. that we have a standardized set of recommendations and protocols, ”he said.
Biden was asked Monday if he would encourage leaders to consider reinstating stay-at-home orders now that the pandemic is escalating across the country. He avoided responding directly, instead asking officials to agree to wearing masks and criticizing those who have not.
Prior to his speech Monday, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris held virtual meetings with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, among others. .
The US economy has recovered from the pandemic-triggered shutdowns this spring faster than most economists expected. The unemployment rate dropped a full percentage point last month to 6.9 percent and those who still have jobs, many of them working from home, have increased their spending on cars, electronics and home renovations.
But much of the rally was driven by $ 2 trillion in stimulus money that has largely run its course. And there are signs that continued increases in confirmed virus cases are making Americans more cautious when traveling and shopping.
Consumers cut spending in early November, according to JPMorgan Chase, which tracks spending on 30 million of its debit and credit cards. The decline in spending has been greatest in some states with severe outbreaks, such as Iowa and North Dakota.
Most economists support another round of stimulus financing, including small business loans, extended unemployment benefits, and support for states and cities. Congressional Democrats have previously backed another $ 2 trillion in aid.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Majority Leader, has pointed to the drop in the unemployment rate as evidence that much less stimulus is needed.
But on whether Biden should receive information about the coronavirus, many of Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill remained entrenched.
“We’ve been working for the past year to make sure the vaccine is delivered and it will start delivery probably in December, so you won’t even be president of the United States when the vaccine starts,” Sen. said. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in rejecting Biden’s comments.
“He may be aware, but he wants nothing to do with it,” Cornyn said. “I mean, I hope that by the time he takes office we are on the right track.” AP
