Bipartisan group of senators unveils 2 bills designed to smooth presidential transitions
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled an agreement on Wednesday for a pair of bills that would ease contested transitions of power and make it more difficult to overturn the results of an election.
According to CNN, "one bill is focused on modernizing and overhauling" the Electoral Count Act of 1887, while the other stipulates that if "neither candidate concedes within five days of Election Day, both candidates would be able to receive access to federal transition resources" until the dispute is resolved.
After he lost in 2020, former President Donald Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to exploit ambiguities in the ECA to hand him the election. Trump lawyer John Eastman's strategy to pull this off rested on the claim that the ECA is "likely unconstitutional" as currently written.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Emily Murphy — who headed the General Services Administration under Trump — spent the weeks after the election refusing to give then-President-elect Joe Biden and his team access to the funds and resources they needed to ensure an orderly transfer of power.
The negotiations that led to the two proposed bills were led by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who hammered out the deal along with 14 other senators — six Democrats and eight Republicans. The measure needs 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, meaning at least 10 Republicans will have to vote for it. Assuming all the GOP senators who worked on the agreement vote for it, they'll just need to convince one more.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro

