US election 2020: Trump refuses to concede. Where does that leave Biden?
Story highlights
Joe Biden won the US presidential election, defeating incumbent Donald Trump, who has refused to concede and is planning to contest the election results
Joe Biden won the US presidential election, defeating incumbent Donald Trump, who has refused to concede and is planning to contest the election results.
Where does that leave Biden and the rest of America? Will they wait for the courts to decide? Or start preparing for the transition? Biden will be using the next couple of months to build his inner circle, and to announce his core team. It seems Biden will be dealing with Donald Trump in courts, as the president is set on not letting Biden inherit the White House peacefully.
Report say that team Trump has refused to sign a letter, which would allow team Biden to formally begin work this week. When a new president is about to take office, the outgoing government must enable the transition.
The US also has a law to ensure this, called the Pre-election Presidential Transition Act, which says Biden's transition team is entitled to use government office spaces and equipment, with access to government officials.
Biden’s camp is also entitled to money, as part of which the government must pay the expenses of the transition team. According to reports, more than four thousand positions have to be filled when a new president takes charge. And the transition team has to identify and vet all these candidates.
They also have to arrange for the occupancy of executive residences. Biden has already begun planning his transition. And he's looking at assembling one of the most diverse cabinets in history.
The first appointments will be of the White House staff. The cabinet appointments won't be made public until around thanksgiving, and Biden has even raised money for the team. In May, at least seven million dollars were raised for the transition. Reports say Biden is planning a slew of executive actions, including the immediate reversals of some of Trump's decisions. This could include cancelling America's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Last week, the secret service has stepped up the protection of both Biden and Harris.
As president-elect, Biden will now receive several briefings. This includes the president's daily briefing, and background briefings on covert actions.
The American security establishment is now supposed to brief Biden and his team on global dynamics. President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden will meet soon. Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden will receive a tour of the White House.
During the tour, they're also asked about the White House decor, and if would they like to change it. The Biden camp has also created a Twitter page to keep everyone informed about the transition.
There is also a website called “Build back better”. Here, Biden and Harris list the coronavirus, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change as their first four priorities. In fact, Biden wants to focus on the virus from day one, and a task force is being created, which will be led by an Indian American - Dr Vivek Murthy - the former US Surgeon General.