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(CNN) –– A growing number of veteran Republican lawmakers are rejecting President Donald Trump’s tactics to reverse election results that show he lost the race, expressing concerns that they could damage America’s response to the coronavirus crisis and undermine a key pillar of democracy.
In recent days, more Republicans have spoken, even as party leaders and the vast majority of those in Congress continue to support Trump’s efforts to contest the results.
Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, and Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, all longtime Republicans, have expressed concern in recent days about the transition to power.
The transition is still overdue
Their petitions come because Trump has yet to admit defeat and the General Services Administration has yet to formally acknowledge the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. Due to this situation, Biden does not have access to contact with federal agencies or funding to execute government contracts for the new administration. It also has no access to secret intelligence reports. The delay in the transition has given rise to national security concerns and the impacts it could have on the Bidenal administration’s incoming response to covid-19, especially regarding the distribution of a vaccine.
“If there is any chance that Joe Biden is the next president, and it looks like he has a high probability, the Trump administration should provide the Biden team with all the transition materials, resources and meetings necessary to ensure a smooth transition. for both. they are ready from day one. This should be especially true, for example, in vaccine distribution, “Alexander wrote in a statement Friday. The congressman chairs the influential Senate Committee on Health, Education, Work and Pensions. In the letter, the legislator highlighted the impact the transition could have on the response to the pandemic.
Alexander will retire at the end of his term this year.
“It’s time to move on,” Republican says against Trump’s attitude
Likewise, when asked about Trump’s efforts to reverse the election results on Friday, Granger told CNN he had “major concerns about it.” And he added: “I think it’s time to move on.”
Granger, a Republican veteran from Texas, added on Friday that Trump should be transparent about the situation.
“I think it’s time for him to really realize and be very clear about what’s going on,” Granger said.
When asked Thursday if Trump should acknowledge the result, Upton, a longtime Michigan Republican who was targeted by the Democrats but won re-election by 16 points, said, “Yes. I think everything has been said and done.
Upton also ruled out any evidence of voter fraud in his home state.
A week colored by the attempts of the Trump campaign
“No one has seen any actual documentation of actual fraud,” Upton said when asked about Trump’s allegations of widespread fraud in Detroit. Trump will meet with Republican leaders of the Michigan state legislature at the White House on Friday afternoon. The meeting is part of the president’s and his legal team’s efforts to reverse the results.
He asks Trump to acknowledge defeat at the end of a week tainted by the Trump campaign’s attempts to reverse the results of the general election, which were blocked by state judges in Arizona, Pennsylvania and a federal judge in Georgia. Additionally, a state audit in Georgia confirmed Biden’s victory in the state.
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani held a press conference full of lies and conspiracy theories on Thursday at the Republican Committee headquarters. There he filed a series of legal claims and a plan to bring more lawsuits. This has sown more confusion over the election results.
Some Republicans are reconsidering their silence, according to a source
A Republican Senate source told CNN that the combination of Giuliani’s press conference and the president’s meddling in the Michigan election process prompts some Republican senators to reconsider their silence. This source says most hoped Trump’s tirade had already resolved itself. Yet your actions over the past 24 hours make that hope seem more and more distant.
According to the same source, a handful of Republican senators are debating whether and how to intervene more effectively with the president. There is talk of the possibility of speaking to Trump and begging him to step down by promoting victories in the House of Representatives. It also helps win the two pending Senate seats in Georgia. And take credit for advances in the coronavirus vaccine, among other achievements.
The source pointed out, however, that this is not a leadership position at the moment, but more of grassroots Republicans.
CNN’s Dana Bash contributed to this report.
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