White House STILL resists Biden transition as chief of staff Mark Meadows tells President’s office they need permission to speak to Joe’s administration
- White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows instructed Trump’s team in a memo not to ‘speak directly’ with members of the new administration
- He said only those given ‘specific authorization’ can do so
- This is another sign that President Donald Trump is resisting the transition despite the GSA authorizing it on Monday
Mark Meadows has instructed White House staff not to speak with Joe Biden’s team, in another sign President Donald Trump’s team is still not completely complying with the transition despite authorizing it Monday.
‘Unless specifically authorized,’ the White House chief of staff said in a late Monday evening memo seen by Bloomberg that those on Trump’s team ‘are not permitted to speak directly with a member of the Biden transition team or the federal transition coordinator.’
Meadows, however, did say in the memo that the White House would ‘comply with all actions needed to ensure the smooth transfer of power.’
He said that the Trump administration’s work is not yet finished.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows instructed Trump’s team not to ‘speak directly’ with members of the new administration unless given ‘specific authorization’ to do so
Although the transition process has been authorized, President Donald Trump says this is no where close to a concession that he lost to Joe Biden
He also praised General Service Administration Administrator Emily Murphy for her work
Trump finally allowed the transition to Biden to commence, but the president made it clear he is still not conceding the election and will fight the results to the end.
The General Services Administration ascertained the election for Biden Monday, which Trump said he authorized, meaning the former vice president will now begin to get daily intelligence briefings and communicate with the COVID task force.
‘Remember, the GSA has been terrific, and Emily Murphy has done a great job, but the GSA does not determine who the next President of the United States will be,’ Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
The transition could only begin once the GSA recognized the ‘apparent successful candidate.’
Biden began announcing his Cabinet picks on Monday and will formally introduce them during a speech in Delaware on Tuesday afternoon.
Many Republicans were urging the president to allow the transition to begin after GSA Administrator Emily Murphy made it clear she would not sign off on the transition process even after Biden declared victory and most major media outlets called him the victor.
Trump has praised Murphy for holding her ground.
‘I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country,’ Trump tweeted Monday. ‘She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA.’
‘Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!’ he continued. ‘Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.’
Meadows and other senior Trump aides, including White House Counsel Pat Cipolline, have encouraged the president to allow the transition to begin – even without conceding.
They admitted they could not justify withholding support for the transition any longer.
Trump has launched several legal challenges in swing states that went blue this year, but many have already been thrown out and none have yet prevailed.
General Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy would not sign off on ascertaining the election for Joe Biden until yesterday – when Trump said he instructed her to give the OK for the transition to begin
Trump took credit for the ascertainment, claiming he will allow the transition to begin
The president reiterated on Twitter that the transition did not mean his concession – still insisting it will be revealed he is the true winner.
‘What does GSA being allowed to preliminarily work with the Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases on what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history?’ he asked.
The post was flagged as disputed by Twitter.
Trump continued on Monday evening; ‘We are moving full speed ahead. Will never concede to fake ballots & ‘Dominion’.’
Dominion Voting Systems spoke out Sunday saying it is ‘not physically possible’ for its machines to change voter selections.