Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory as President-elect, saying at the State Department Tuesday that “there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.”
Pompeo was asked if the State Department is preparing to engage with the Biden transition team and, if not, whether a delay could pose a risk to national security. “The world is watching what’s taking place,” he continued at a briefing. “We’re gonna count all the votes. When the process is completed, they’ll be electors selected. There’s a process, the Constitution lays it out pretty clearly.”
“The world should have every confidence that the transition necessary to make sure that the State Department is functional today, successful today and successful with a president who’s in office on January 20 a minute after noon ,will also be successful,” he said.
Pompeo’s remarks added to confusion generated by President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 election and growing concern that a chaotic transition period could undermine indeed national security. Senior Republican lawmakers and other Cabinet officials have also been silent about the former vice president’s projected victory.
Even as foreign leaders call to congratulate Biden, Trump has refused to accept the result, with his campaign launching legal challenges and making baseless claims about voter fraud and illegal votes. On Monday, his attorney general authorized federal prosecutors to investigate allegations of voter irregularities — a directive that led the Justice Department’s top election crimes prosecutor to resign.
Pompeo repeatedly avoided answering direct questions, sidestepping when asked whether he believed there was massive voter fraud. He said, “I’m getting calls from all across the world. These people are watching our election. They understand that we have a legal process.”
Multiple world leaders have congratulated Biden on his victory.
Referring to the contested 2000 presidential election that was ultimately determined by a Supreme Court decision that handed victory to Republican President George W. Bush, he added, “They understand that this takes time, right, took us 37 plus days in an election back in 2000, conducted successful transition then.”
“I’m very confident that we will count, and we must count, every legal vote. We must make sure that any vote that wasn’t lawful ought not be counted. That dilutes your vote, if it’s done improperly. Gotta get that right, when we get it right, we’ll get it right, we’re in good shape,” he said.
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