State dept refuses to facilitate calls between President-elect Joe Biden and foreign leaders after win
The state department has stopped short of facilitating phone calls between President-elect Joe Biden and foreign leaders since the General Services Administration (GSA) continues to refuse to acknowledge that incumbent President Donald Trump has lost the election held last week. The convention sees the department serving as the bridge between the incoming president with global leaders but this time, something unprecedented is being witnessed.
Biden, a former vice president who was in office between 2009 and 2017, has spoken to at least six world leaders since the contest was called in his favor last weekend and has indicated that he will connect to more. Leaders of key allies like Canada, UK, France and Germany have already congratulated Biden along with other countries. Since 77-year-old Biden was in the administration not too long ago and served as a long-time chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he already has solid relations with many of the world leaders and therefore, the diplomatic background to handle relations with them.
On Tuesday, November 10, Biden told the media that he was letting other nations know that “America is back” when asked about his message to the world. “I have a number of other calls to return,” he added.
The state department has in the past played the role of facilitator of those calls, which includes providing translation services and taking notes to keep records. It is not happening in the case of the 46th president-elect who would take over on January 20 replacing Trump, America’s first one-term president in three decades.
According to the Daily Mail, Biden is also not getting the President’s Daily Brief (PDB), which is a compilation of high-level intelligence reporting that is sent to the government’s most senior officials. The outgoing president could authorize access to his successor but he has refused to do it. On Tuesday, Biden, who once feared along with many Democrats that Trump would not vacate the White House after losing the election and might have to be moved, said he has not been receiving the briefing.
“Obviously the PDB would be useful but it's not necessary,” Biden said, adding: “Look, access to classified information is useful, but I'm not in a position to make any decisions on those issues anyway. As I said, one president at a time and he will be president until January 20.”
Mike Pompeo refuses to accpet Biden win
While Trump and many of his closest aides are in no mood to concede his defeat, the transition process was hit with a major blow on Tuesday when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also toed the GOP president’s line and said there will be a smooth transition only to a second Trump administration. He also told the Fox News that he was not too concerned about Biden’s talks with foreign leaders that he said were like saying “hi”.
“But make no mistake about it, we have one president and one secretary of state. One national security team at a time. It's appropriate that (this) would be that way,” Pompeo said.
Biden later laughed at Pompeo’s stance during a press conference and said the lack of cooperation from the Trump administration was an embarrassment and it would not help the commander-in-chief’s legacy. Emily Murphy, the head of the GSA who has been appointed by Trump, is yet to sign the letter of ‘ascertainment’ acknowledging the winner of the 2020 election and formally begin the transition procedure.
GSA chief Emily Murphy continues to be an obstacle
Meanwhile, Emily Murphy, the head of the GSA and a Trump appointee, is yet to sign the letter of 'ascertainment', which acknowledges the winner of the presidential election and formally starts the transition process. The letter would give Biden’s team access to the federal agencies. The new president would have to fill several thousand posts and the transition letter would also give his administration access to federal funds worth $6.3 million meant for the transition.
On Monday, Biden's transition team said Murphy's non-cooperation was stopping it from having government office space, including access to a secure room to take up classified material. They are also unable to do background checks of top cabinet nominees that need top-secret access. The last time the US saw a delay in the transition process was in 2000 when the results of the presidential election dragged on in Florida. Eventually, the procedure started after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of George W Bush.