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WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – President Donald Trump faces mounting pressure from prominent Republicans to begin a transition to President-elect Joe Biden, or even admit defeat, as Trump’s legal challenges failed to gain traction.
Several key Trump allies appeared to lose patience over the weekend. Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, one of Trump’s staunchest allies, called on Sunday (November 22) for the transition to Biden to begin.
Senator Pat Toomey congratulated Biden on his victory after Trump suffered another legal defeat in Pennsylvania.
The comments show a growing chorus within the party that acknowledges that Biden won the election, or almost certainly will, and that delaying the transition of power risks hampering critical programs such as the United States’ response to the coronavirus pandemic. . Still, only a minority of Republicans have spoken out, and several have taken a sheltered stance that Trump should begin the transition even as the legal fight continues.
But even court challenges are losing support.
Trump’s longtime adviser Chris Christie said Sunday that the president’s legal team had become a “national embarrassment” after pushing conspiracy theories about voter fraud in a series of bizarre media appearances.
Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland who is an outspoken critic of Trump, told the president to “stop golfing and concede.” Other national figures, notably Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have declined to speak so far.
But the president’s time is running out as states like Michigan and Pennsylvania prepare to certify their election results as early as Monday, sealing Biden’s victory.
“It’s about time to start a transition, at least to cooperate with the transition. I’d rather have a president who has more than a day to prepare, in case Joe Biden, you know, ends up winning this,” Cramer told Meet The Press Sunday.
Cramer said the election “is very likely” to be over, but not over yet, and gave Trump some leeway to continue his legal fight. “I don’t know why we are so easily offended by a president who is pursuing all his legal options in court.” Biden’s team has grown more vocal in calling for the transition to begin, warning that the delay could impede the launch of a coronavirus vaccine and hamper other key government programs. Biden plans to start appointing his cabinet this week.
Trump has made a series of unconventional moves to undo the election result and has continually claimed, without foundation, that the vote was rigged. Trump has even lobbied state lawmakers to ignore the results and award his status to him instead of Biden, a move that no senator has endorsed and Toomey called illegitimate.
Most senators, however, have remained silent, avoiding the risk of angering the outgoing president, who remains popular with Republican voters and who has a history of attacking those who anger him politically.
Angrying Trump and his supporters runs the risk of suppressing Republican participation in a pair of Georgia runoff elections that will determine whether Republicans retain a majority in the Senate.
On Sunday, Senator David Perdue of Georgia backed Trump’s request for a third recount of Georgia’s ballots, this time including a review of the signatures on absentee ballot envelopes, despite the ballots being These envelopes were separated long ago to ensure voter privacy.
Trump has increasingly faced Republicans who demand proof of fraud, such as House Republican Conference Speaker Liz Cheney, or who say they believe Biden won, such as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. The president is now openly fanning a major challenge against DeWine.
Trump is also moving forward to secure his policies, such as speeding up troop withdrawals from foreign posts and increasing tension with China. He briefly participated in the Group of 20 sessions this weekend, but left the daily schedule early to head to his golf course.
Republican dissent had increased by the weekend. Sen. Mitt Romney said Trump is trying to “subvert the will of the people.” Retired Senator Lamar Alexander said Friday that Biden “looks like he has a very good chance” of winning. Former President George W. Bush also congratulated Biden.
But Trump’s attempts suffered another blow on Saturday, when a federal judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit aimed at blocking certification of the state’s election results. Toomey said Trump had “exhausted all plausible legal options” in Pennsylvania, and it was time to admit that Biden had won.
Requests for Trump to present evidence or grant have also increased after a press conference Thursday, with attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell.
They alleged a series of unspecified fraud, and Powell accused Venezuela, China and George Soros of conspiring to defraud American voters and insisting that Trump had won. By Sunday, the Trump campaign had distanced itself from Powell. In a joint statement, Giuliani and Ellis said Powell is not an advocate for Trump’s campaign or for Trump personally.
But even as legal challenges continue, many Republicans say the transition process should still be underway to ensure a smooth handover on critical issues like the work of the coronavirus task force in fighting the pandemic.
“Clearly, it would be better if the Biden task force could coordinate, learn, and provide input to the White House task force. It would just be better,” said Michael Leavitt, a former Utah governor who served in the cabinet, including as secretary. of health. He, like many Republicans, has argued that the legal fight does not prevent a transition process from beginning. “I am one of those who believes that these processes can be performed simultaneously, and should be.” Moncef Slaoui, one of the top officials leading the Trump administration’s push to speed up a vaccine, told Meet The Press on Sunday that he had been instructed not to share any details with anyone who is not in the administration. He said he thought the process would go smoothly anyway.
“All decisions are made. The train is on. Whether it’s one administration or another, it frankly doesn’t make a difference. I hope there are no disruptions in any way,” Slaoui said.
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