Biden's team is considering legal action over Trump blocking the presidential transition process
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How Manchesterism could change the UKThe Explainer The idea involves shifting a centralized government to more local powers
-
Church of England instates first woman leaderSpeed Read Sarah Mullally became the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
