Biden vows to 'get right to work' despite Trump resistance

Vowing “to get right to work,” President-elect Joe Biden shrugged off President Donald Trump's fierce refusal to accept election outcome as “inconsequential,” even as Democrats elsewhere warned that Republican president's actions were dangerous.

Raising unsupported claims of voter fraud, Trump has blocked incoming president from receiving intelligence briefings and withheld federal funding intended to help facilitate transfer of power. Trump's resistance, backed by senior Republicans in Washington and across country, could also prevent background investigations and security clearances for prospective staff and access to federal ncies to discuss transition planning.

As some Democrats and former Republican officials warned of serious consequences, Biden sought to lower national temperature Tuesday as he dressed reporters from a makeshift transition hequarters near his home in downtown Wilmington.

He described Trump's position as little more than an “embarrassing” mark on outgoing president's legacy, while predicting that Republicans on Capitol Hill would eventually accept reality of Biden's victory. Republican resistance, Biden said, “does t change dynamic at all in what we’re able to do.” ditional intelligence briefings “would be useful,” Biden ded, but "we don’t see anything slowing us down.”

measured comments come as Biden prepares to confront dueling national crises that actively threaten health, safety and ecomic security of millions of Americans irrespective of political debate. Coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths are surging, ecomy faces prospect of long-term dam, and nation's political and cultural divides may be worsening.

Biden is betting that his low-key approach and bipartisan outreach — a sharp reversal from current president's style — will help him govern effectively on Day One. But just 71 days before he will be inaugurated, Trump and his allies seemed determined to make Biden's transition as difficult as possible.

From his Twitter account on Tuesday, Trump again raised unsupported claims of “massive ballot counting abuse” and predicted he would ultimately win race he has alrey lost. His allies on Capitol Hill, led by Senate Majority Leer Mitch McConnell, have encourd president's baseless accusations. Trump's tweets were swiftly flagged by social media network as disputed claims about election fraud.

America's allies began to ackwledge what Trump would t. French President Emmanuel Macron met with Biden via videoconference. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, among six world leers overall, congratulated Biden on his election.

“I look forward to strengning partnership between our countries and to working with him on our shared priorities — from tackling climate change, to promoting democracy and building back better from pandemic,” Johnson wrote on Twitter. “Build back better” is a slogan that Biden and British government have in common.

Meanwhile, Biden tried to stay focused on health care in midst of worst health crisis in more than a century. One of Biden's chief coronavirus visers, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, briefed Senate Democrats on Tuesday by phone at ir weekly virtual lunch.

closed-door meeting marked first time a Biden transition official has dressed Democrats' Senate caucus since last week's election. In an afteron speech, Biden delivered a forceful defense of Affordable Care Act, just hours after Supreme Court heard arguments on its merits. high court ruled eight years ago to leave intact essential components of law kwn as “Obamacare,” but Trump and his Republican allies are seeking to have it overturned.

If 6-3 conservative court ultimately agrees with GOP, millions of Americans could lose ir health care cover. While Tuesday’s arguments indicate court is unlikely to strike down entire law, prospect ded new weight to alrey heavy burden Biden inherits from outgoing ministration. “It’s a law that saved lives and spared countless families from financial ruin,” Biden charged. He vowed to work with Congress to strengn health care law “as soon as humanly possible.”

For w, however, Republicans on Capitol Hill, like those in Trump ministration, are showing desire to cooperate with a Biden ministration. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday predicted re would be a smooth transition — to ar four years of Trump in power. Senate Majority Leer Mitch McConnell largely endorsed Trump's approach: “Until Electoral College votes, anyone who is running for office can exhaust concerns."

Biden spent much of Tuesday working alongside Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at a ater near his home in downtown Wilmington. He is expected to quickly name a chief of staff and start considering Cabinet appointments, though those likely won’t be finalized for weeks.

Republicans are increasingly eyeing a December deline to publicly accept election result, giving Trump time and to exhaust his legal challenges. That’s when states face a deline to certify results and a Dec. 14 deline for Electoral College to cast its votes. It’s also roughly same amount of time it took to resolve 2000 election dispute between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.

Senior officials in George W. Bush ministration warned, however, that delay after 2000 contest caused problems.Specifically, Biden's team is calling on General Services ministration, led by a Trump-appointed ministrator, Emily Murphy, to formally recognize Biden's victory. Until that happens, Biden will t receive comprehensive security briefings, transition funding or ability to communicate with ncies to begin coordinating transfer of power.

“ministrator Murphy’s refusal to ascertain President-elect Biden’s victory in 2020 election puts American lives at risk," said Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat who led Obama ministration’s transition at Commerce Department.Former Republican officials agreed.“Our versaries aren’t waiting for transition to take place,” said former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., insisting that Biden begin receiving president's daily briefing immediately. “This isn’t about politics; this is about national security.”

Biden, meanwhile, didn't seem worried.He answered several questions during his first press briefing as president-elect, almost all of m focused on Republican Party's refusal to ackwledge his victory.“I just think it’s an embarrassment, quite frankly," Biden said.

(Im Credit: AP) 

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