Bipartisan Center for Presidential Transition urges Trump to concede and let ‘post-election transition process’ begin

On Saturday, November 7, major media outlets projected that former Vice President Joe Biden won Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes and will be the next president of the United States — and some Republicans are responding by imploring Trump not to concede and fight the election results in court, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and the president's personal attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. But the bipartisan Center for Presidential Transition's advisory board vehemently disagrees and is urging Trump to concede for the good of the U.S.

In an official statement, the Center declared, "We congratulate Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris on their successful and historic campaign for the White House. In our role, we have observed the seriousness with which they have taken the transition planning process. They embraced transition planning early, recruited a seasoned and disciplined team and resourced their transition effort commensurate with the challenges that President-elect Biden will face on January 20. While there will be legal disputes requiring adjudication, the outcome is sufficiently clear that the transition process must now begin."

The Center continued, "As candidate Biden becomes President-elect Biden, he and his transition team will quickly shift from campaigning to governing. To build an effective government ready to address the urgent needs of our great country, the new president will have to recruit 4000 political appointees, including 1250 who require Senate confirmation; prepare a $4.7 trillion budget; implement a strong policy agenda; and assume leadership of a workforce of 2 million civilian employees and 2 million active duty and reserve troops."

The statement was signed by two Republicans and two Democrats. The Republicans both served under President George W. Bush: former White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt — and the Democrats are Thomas F. McLarty, who served as White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, and former Obama Administration Commerce Secretary Penny S. Pritzker.

"Now, the real challenge begins," the Center's statement emphasized. "We urge the Trump Administration to immediately begin the post-election transition process and the Biden team to take full advantage of the resources available under the Presidential Transition Act. This was a hard-fought campaign, but history is replete with examples of presidents who emerged from such campaigns to graciously assist their successors."