More GOP lawmakers call on Trump to begin presidential transition: 'It is time'
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
More GOP lawmakers call on Trump to begin presidential transition: 'It is time'
A small but growing group of Republican lawmakers are calling on President Trump to begin the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden, even as the incumbent refuses to concede and forges ahead with a series of legal challenges trying to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, became the latest GOP senator late Sunday night to issue a statement pushing for the Trump administration to start the presidential transition process.
"President Trump has had the opportunity to litigate his claims, and the courts have thus far found them without merit," she said. "A pressure campaign on state legislators to influence the electoral outcome is not only unprecedented but inconsistent with our democratic process. It is time to begin the full and formal transition process."
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Her comments came shortly after several of her Senate colleagues said it was time to start the transition process while acknowledging Biden as the likely victor of the presidential election.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that it's "past time to start a transition, to at least cooperate with a transition. I'd rather have a president who has more than one day to prepare."
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, tweeted Sunday that Biden should start receiving intelligence briefings. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., said Trump has "exhausted all plausible legal options" in Pennsylvania and urged him to concede.
"To ensure that he is remembered for these outstanding accomplishments, and to help unify our country, President Trump should accept the outcome of the election and facilitate the presidential transition process," Toomey said in a statement after a "longtime conservative Republican" judge, Matthew Brann, threw out the latest Trump campaign lawsuit that challenged the Pennsylvania vote.
Trump berated the Pennsylvania Republican on Twitter, saying that "Senator Pat 'No Tariffs' Toomey" was "no friend of mine."
Toomey is retiring rather than running for re-election in 2022.
Rep. Liz Cheney, chair of the House Republican Conference, also said it was time for Trump to respect the "sanctity of our electoral process" if he cannot provide "genuine evidence" of criminality and widespread fraud in the voting process.
"If the President cannot prove these claims or demonstrate that they would change the election result, he should fulfill his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States by respecting the sanctity of our electoral process," the Wyoming Republican said in a statement to Politico.
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., said during an interview on CNN that "the voters have spoken" and there has been no evidence of fraud or abuse in the election.
"All 83 counties have certified their own election results," Upton said of Michigan, a key battleground state where Trump is trying to invalidate voting results. "Those will be officially tabulated or should be tomorrow. We expect that that process move forward and let the voters, not the politicians speak."
Trump's efforts to overturn the election results also sparked criticism from his longtime ally and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who called the president's legal team "outrageous" and a "national embarrassment."
"I've been a supporter of the president's. I voted for him twice, but elections have consequences, and we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn't happen," he said on ABC.
Other Republicans who have publicly congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, or who have called on the transition process to begin, include Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Susan Collins of Maine.
Romney issued one of the most scathing statements, accusing him of trying to "subvert the will of the people and overturn the election."
"It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American President," Romney said last week.
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn
Rep. Liz Cheney, chair of the House Republican Conference
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., said during an interview on CNN that
"the voters have spoken" and there has been no evidence of fraud or abuse in the election.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who called the president's legal team:
"outrageous" and a "national embarrassment."
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah
Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
Let me guess….. These are all RINOs……
Without question......Trump needs to concede, and start the transition
Indeed. Even the GOP knows it's over.
Trump is behaving like a petulant child. It is disgusting and yet another national embarrassment brought on by Trump alone.
What an asshole!
I'm torn.
OTOH, blocking Biden's transition team is harmful to the nation so I want the blockage to cease.
OTOH, Trump is ridiculous... and becoming more ridiculous every day... so in a way, the longer this stupidity persists, the more people will become disgusted by the Golfer-in-Chief.
How so Bob?
It takes time for incoming personnel to master ongoing activities. The sooner they can start learning, the better.
Think he would understand the 9-11 report Bob?
Think he would care to put America first for a change...... I don't.
Let's be charitable. It's just insufficient reflection.
What a SORE LOSER! Asking for another recount in Georgia. Haven't all his lawsuits been thrown out by now? Who will even defend this LOSER anymore except Ghouliani?
The next trick up their sleeve is to demand a recount in Roman numerals.
With a report issued in Latin?
Trump will become the first president to lose a state three times in three weeks. It's even better than Goundhog Day.
Another first for Bunker Boy.
What's the rush? Why should the Republicans, also falsely accused and called....
racists, bigots, homophobes, white supremacists, deplorables, by the radical left....
do anything to make it easier for Illegitimate Joe
Because their blocking the transition will have negative consequences for the nation.
Just for poor-loser's spite.
Yeah, we've seen a lot of this the four years.
Where is your proof that the election of Biden is illegitimate Greg..?
Do you have anything that could be taken into court to prove your statement, or are you just parroting your savior Trump?
BTW.... I find it hysterical that you still use Regan for your photo. He' d find both Trump and his supporters a disgrace to the country.....
He has none. He's just spewing BS!
He has none, he's just saying that the conservative Republicans are doing unto others as they believe others have done to them, you know, the gold painted rule that matches their gold painted dictator.
I think that those who are saying what’s the rush are actually hoping for a calamity to result from this malfeasance, to maximize the hobbling of the incoming administration.
Indeed, because they don't give a shit about the nation as a whole, just themselves and their party.
Do you really want to be on the side of the sore losers?
At this point it is credibility suicide to deny the results of this election.
Starting my list and checking it twice....
President Trump has a little more time to accomplish the chore of concession, as history has shown.
Read more here is you're inclined.
Can anyone point me to any viable source proving that Former VP Biden has actually accomplished the task of winning the election? By viable I mean sufficient states that have certified their results and the respective Secretaries of State have indicated that Former VP Biden is the choice of that state?
Your position is ridiculous, and getting more ridiculous every day.
How so? I will grant that it APPEARS that Former VP Biden is the likely winner, but until such time as that has officially occurred, he is no more entitled to briefings of any kind that you or I am.
Can you legitimately dispute that?
Of course. A Trump appointee is refusing to certify Biden's victory.
Here's a little education I hope you take advantage of. No Trump "appointee" as your link implies certifies the Presidential winner. It's a somewhat complex and convoluted exercise, but again, it is not a Trump appointee.
And to support that, I will provide the following for you to help learn.
and if that is insufficient, there is this also.
Here's the link for the above.
So, you were saying?
You didn't read my link, did you?
First, it's a paid subscription service so no. However, that not withstanding, regardless of what the Washington Post has to say about the matter, their belief or that of any of the writers has anything to do with the actual Presidential election certification process. It really is that simple.
If one does not like the laws, get them changed.
Maybe because the Federal Government has not in fact "certified" the winner? Please try to read the actual certification process in either of the provided links it will explain what you obviously refuse to acknowledge.
This is not paywalled:
[Deleted]
Have you been following the news over the last few hours?
I used the wrong word. I used "certified" when I should have used the much less likely "ascertained".
You fixed on the word, rather than the reality... but then reality rose up...
Since you want to hang your hat on the Bush-Gore race......537 votes in a single swing state is a long far cry from:
When you got your ass kicked in those swing states and lost the national by 9,427,148 votes. Sure, I can see why Trump supporters would think there is a chance that Trump really won. / BIG-S for sarcasm there to be clear.
But by all means.... keep putting everything else in front of what is best and right for America..... It's what Trump supporters do so well.
It has nothing to do with the numbers involved in any race, it has to do with 1- concession and 2- certification of the winner.
Gore was not a sitting president refusing to concede and Clinton was cooperating with both Bush and Gore...
It has everything to do with "The good of the country."....which I suggest you see eye to eye on Trump's stance.
Immaterial.
I don't know your status, but I will guess that like me, it is not the President of The United States. So, your opinion is just that, your personal belief and opinion.
It should have everything to do with the numbers. Denying reality is pointless. What possible value is it to you to pretend to be (or actually be) oblivious to the facts of this election?
Since you want to take that tack, things can be legal, but immoral..... And that's what we have here with Trump and his temper tantrum.
There are things called grace and honor..... neither of which can be applied to Trump.
He's already taken the stance that the number don't matter...... so we can assume that facts won't be persuasive either.
Hard to imagine what is going through the mind, at this point in the game, of people who refuse to acknowledge that Trump has, in effect, no chance of changing the results of this election.
I've provided facts which you obviously feel the desire to ignore. Public opinion does not certify an election.
It gives trump more time to collect money for the recounts (which doesn't go to recounts, it goes to payoff campaign debt). They're going to milk their supporters for all they can.
No one, at least not me, is claiming there is any chance of changing anything. If you can provide where I stated that please do so. If not, don't try to imply I did any such thing.
????? Would they not be one and the same? Or is there a special bucket of money for each?
If you see there is no chance of Trump changing the results of the election, then why are you taking the position (@6) that Trump should continue this charade?
No.
Money raised to pay for recounts goes to covering campaign debts, funding future political activities and boosting like-minded figures.
And there is the $64,000 question to be answered......
It sure as hell can't be for the good of the country.
Well, first, I'm not President Trump and two, it's within his legal right to do so.
Until such time as former VP Biden is "certified" per the information I provided in 6.1.3 above, he is only a Presidential contender and as such, no one is legally obligated to provide him or his campaign anything.
Such is life. Actually any money raised by a political candidate can only be used for those purposes, or given to charity. No candidate can pocket any remaining funds.
Actually, numbers is all that matters in any race. Biden received more numbers, both popular and electoral. There is no chance now of that changing. Therefore, Biden won the race. Game over!
Yeah he has the right to do so, but that is no explanation for why it is good for him to do so. And, yes, I know you are not Trump.
Yes, he is not officially president-elect until certification. So what? Unless the man dies before then, he will be sworn in as the next PotUS on the 20th of January. So, again, I ask you:
What is the responsible, productive reason for standing in the way of the transition?
What on Earth is going through the minds of those who are in favor of impeding the transition??
I think you're making the mistake of assuming there's a mind to begin with. Certainly not a rational one at the very least.
Ah... but it IS the public that voted, so public opinion IS exactly to the point.
Stand on legal precedence all you want..... Tradition means something in America, at least to those that aren't drinking the Trump Kool-Ade.
Based on the approach you are taking, that would not matter either. Constitutionally, the critical event is when Congress receives the certified results from the states and declares the winner. I mean, if you are going to strictly focus on constitutional certification of the president-elect you might as well do it right.
Most people, however, seem to look at the current data (which is uncertified) and conclude that Biden did indeed win this election. We do not need the formal certification process to make that call.
See? You are arguing nit-picky semantics. It is a petty, obnoxious tactic. Especially since it is pointless: Biden is going to be the next PotUS.
What's that I hear?
Even Chris "Pry my lips off of Trump's ass and bring me a loaded pizza" Christie has had enough of the bs.