President-elect Joe Biden's transition team said Monday night it's considering legal action to compel the Trump administration to sign the paperwork freeing up federal resources and personnel to begin the peaceful transfer of power. Because President Trump has not conceded, the head of the General Services Administration is refusing to issue the paperwork. The Biden team pointed to the law requiring those resources be released when there's "an apparent winner," but the GSA says it is following the letter of the Presidential Transition Act. "There are a number of options on the table, legal action is certainly a possibility, but there are other options as well that we're considering," a Biden transition official said.
If you weren't worried about a peaceful transfer of power, now might be a good time to start, CNN's Alisyn Camerota advised Tuesday morning. "The Trump administration is blocking the Biden transition, President Trump is preventing President-elect Biden from getting intelligence briefings and critical funding, President Trump is installing his cronies into powerful positions like secretary of defense. The Biden team is now considering a legal fight."
Trump's refusal to concede is getting no public pushback from GOP leaders in Washington, and Attorney General William Barr is telling federal prosecutors they can disregard decades-old rules meant to keep the Justice Department out of uncertified elections.
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.
-
Employees are branching out rather than moving up with career minimalismThe explainer From career ladder to lily pad
-
‘It is their greed and the pollution from their products that hurt consumers’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Jane Austen lives on at these timeless hotelsThe Week Recommends Here’s where to celebrate the writing legend’s 250th birthday
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
UN Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza peace planSpeed Read The United Nations voted 13-0 to endorse President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza
-
Chile picks leftist, far-right candidates for runoff voteSpeed Read The presidential runoff election will be between Jeannette Jara, a progressive from President Gabriel Boric’s governing coalition, and far-right former congressman José Antonio Kast
-
Venezuela mobilizes as top US warship nearsSpeed Read The largest and most advanced US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the Caribbean and put Venezuela on high alert
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops
