Trump Administration Allows Biden Transition to Begin

President Donald Trump has accepted a formal transition should begin for President-elect Joe Biden to take office.

He said the federal agency overseeing the handover must “do what needs to be done”, even as he vowed to keep contesting his election defeat.

The General Services Administration (GSA) said it was acknowledging Joe Biden as the “apparent winner”.

It came as Joe Biden’s victory in the state of Michigan was officially certified, a major blow to President Trump.

The GSA announcement means the president-elect now has access to top security briefings, office space and government officials as he prepares to take office on January 20.

Joe Biden’s transition website has now changed to a government domain. He will begin announcing the people he wants in the top jobs in his cabinet on November 24.

Biden’s team welcomed the start of the transition process as the Democratic president-elect gears up to be sworn in.

A statement said: “Today’s decision is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track.”

Earlier, Joe Biden unveiled his nominations for his foreign policy and national security team, consisting of old colleagues from his years in the Obama administration.

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Joe Biden is set to appoint Anthony Blinken as secretary of state and John Kerry as climate envoy, while Janet Yellen is tipped to be the first female US treasury secretary.

The list of selections came ahead of a formal announcement on November 24. Most of the appointments will require Senate confirmation.

President Trump tweeted as the GSA, which is tasked with formally beginning presidential changeovers, informed the Biden camp that it would start the transition process.

GSA administrator Emily Murphy said she was making $6.3 million in funds available to the president-elect.

President Trump said: “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.”

However, Donald Trump did not concede and went on to repeat unsubstantiated claims of corruption, pledging to keep up the “good fight”. It is worth noting that Donald Trump does not have to concede for Joe Biden to be sworn in as the 46th US president.