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Joe Biden talks about the behavior of the president of the United States. And in phone calls with Merkel, Macron & Co., the “elected president” announces the return of America.
“How can I tactfully say this? I think it won’t help the president’s legacy ”: Joe Biden on Trump’s refusal to relinquish office.
Photo: Keystone
The administration of current US President Donald Trump has refused to give election winner Joe Biden the legally required support to take up official duties. The lockdown is likely to make it difficult for Biden to start – and this in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic and economic crisis. Most experts agree: For Biden and his team, every day counts.
The orderly handover of official business (“transition”) after the presidential election has been enshrined in law for nearly 60 years. In doing so, Congress wanted to ensure that Americans could always count on a functioning government. “Any disruption caused by the handover of government business could lead to results detrimental to the security and well-being of the United States and its citizens,” he said in 1963 to justify the law.
“America is back. We will return to the game. It’s not just about America. “
In view of Trump’s failure to recognize his election victory, Biden said Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware, that he does not see this as an obstacle to further preparations for his presidency. “Frankly I just think it’s shameful. How can I tactfully say it? I think it won’t help the president’s legacy. ”Biden promised he could nominate the first candidates for his cabinet before Thanksgiving on November 26.
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The newly elected US president has also promised Germany and other European allies a revival of severely damaged transatlantic relations. After phone calls with Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, he said on Tuesday: “First of all, I will let you know that America is back. We will return to the game. It’s not just about America. ”In doing so, he clearly distinguished himself from the foreign policy principle of“ America first, ”coined by incumbent President Donald Trump.
Why is “transition” so important?
The president of the United States is the most powerful man in the Western world. It must be fully operational from day one: he will be the commander in chief of the armed forces, will be responsible for 1.3 million soldiers and will have the codes to authorize the use of nuclear weapons in an emergency. He and his administration will be responsible for a nearly $ 5 trillion budget. The pandemic and the economic crisis will also give the president little time to familiarize himself with the situation.
The newly elected presidents vigorously use the two and a half months between the vote and the inauguration to assemble their governing team. It is not just about the cabinet, secretaries of state and heads of authority. Unlike Germany, for example, the president must also quickly fill thousands of positions in the White House, ministries and authorities. About 1200 of the personal data has yet to be approved by the Senate. An elected president must therefore begin staffing as soon as possible to implement his policy.
Why is this a problem under Trump?
The Handover Act gives an important role to the little-known GSA, which serves the government as a provider of real estate services and equipment. Trump-appointed agency head Emily Murphy must determine after the election who are the “obviously successful candidates” for presidential and deputy positions. The transfer of office can only be formally initiated with your letter, which is normally considered a formality. Murphy refuses to recognize Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris as election winners.
Why does the head of authority block?
Murphy follows Trump’s argument that the elections have not yet been finalized in light of the fraud allegations and ongoing lawsuits. This could theoretically keep Biden and Harris away for weeks. The final certified election results of all states will not be available until December 8, just under a week before the electorate cast their votes for the next president. The result of the vote will only be announced in Congress on January 6 – only then will there be absolute legal certainty.
Was there ever something like this?
In 2000, the head of the relatively apolitical GSA (General Services Administration) service authority refused for the first time to determine who had “apparently” won the election. Back then, the race between George W. Bush and Al Gore depended on the extremely close result in the state of Florida. There have been lawsuits and, in some cases, recount. At the time, all of America held its breath because it wasn’t clear who would be the next president – until Gore admitted defeat after a Supreme Court decision. In the remaining years, the GSA letter was usually issued immediately after the election.
What exactly does Biden lose without formal delivery?
The GSA letter would give Biden millions of dollars in salaries and other expenses, as well as government office space and email addresses. But it is even more important that his teams have official access to all government offices. Hundreds of Biden employees must be sent to ministries and authorities to gather all important information and initiate the handover. For example, Biden named 23 members of his transition team for the Ministry of Defense alone.
In accordance with the law, all authorities have already prepared the documents for delivery, some of them hundreds of pages long. Without the GSA letter, Biden’s team can hardly know which government agency is doing what. Biden’s team will therefore not receive confidential government reports on the status of the corona pandemic for the time being. Additionally, the new president’s top employees already have to go through the sometimes time-consuming checks in the transition phase to get permission to inspect secret information (security clearances).
Delivery usually includes numerous high-level discussions and the discussion of important confidential information, as the non-party center for presidential surrender explains. In 2016, for example, National Security Council (NSC) employees also went through disaster scenarios for their successors in the Trump administration – one of them was a pandemic that was starting in Asia. Furthermore, the elected president usually already receives the daily briefing from the secret services, which also receives the incumbent. The former presidents had started it “in the interests of national security,” the center explains.
Biden’s personal protection by the secret services was strengthened after the election victory. A no-fly zone around his home in the state of Delaware has also been expanded and lengthened. Other things that were previously taken for granted, such as the State Department’s help in organizing talks with heads of state and government, have been denied him by the Trump administration, the New York Times reported.
How difficult will it be without proper delivery?
Democrats and individual Republicans have condemned Murphy’s rejection, especially since the timing for the complex handover is tight, even in the best of cases. Biden has kept a low profile so far and stressed that he will replace the president on January 20 in any case. “To be honest, we don’t see anything slowing us down,” he said Tuesday. Despite Murphy’s refusal, he doesn’t see the need for legal action. At the same time, his team urges the head of the authority to issue the necessary letter.
Democrat David Axelrod, involved in the handover to Barack Obama in 2008, called the blockade attitude “subversive” and dangerous for the country’s security. Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton said a “reasonable” president must initiate the handover even though there is still a dispute over the outcome of the final election. “One of them will be president. We need to make sure that both of them are absolutely prepared in matters of national security, and frankly also with the coronavirus pandemic, ”the Republican told CNN on Tuesday.
A federal election commissioner (FEC), Ellen Weintraub, condemned Murphy’s blocking stance on Tuesday. In view of the pandemic, the Biden government “must be fully operational from day one like few before,” the Democrat wrote to Murphy. The state of affairs regarding the election results was the same as in 2016, when the letter for Trump was quickly issued. The only difference was Trump’s refusal to admit defeat, “unprecedented in American history”. But this has no legal effect. The “Every day, every hour” delay reduces Biden’s chances of success.
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