Shame clearly hasn’t forced Republican leaders to put pressure on President Donald Trump to begin the transition—but perhaps demands from national-security experts and top business executives will. The Washington Post reports a group of more than 100 leading GOP national-security experts, including former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, have urged their congressional counterparts to demand Trump administration immediately acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory and start the handover. “President Trump’s refusal to permit the presidential transition posts significant risks to our national security, at a time when the U.S. confronts a global pandemic and faces serious threats from global adversaries, terrorist groups, and other forces,” a statement signed by more than 100 GOP luminaries said. The statement also called on “Republican leaders—specifically those in Congress—to publicly demand that President Trump cease his anti-democratic assault on the integrity of the presidential election.”
Also on Monday, more than 100 top business leaders are issuing a letter demanding the same from the Trump administration. According to The New York Times, if a concession from Trump doesn’t happen, the executives may threaten to withhold campaign donations from the two Republican candidates in Georgia whose runoffs will determine the Senate’s balance of power. In the letter, the business leaders will demand that Emily Murphy, head of the General Services Administration, issues a letter to confirm that Biden has won and that the transition can begin.
Read it at The Washington Post
