WASHINGTON: After Democratic party nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris urged unity in a concession speech on Wednesday following her defeat to Republican Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden broke his silence and congratulated his former rival.
Biden invited the man he ousted from the White House four years ago to an Oval Office meeting to prepare to return the keys.
The White House announced that Biden had spoken to the president-elect and expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition, while emphasizing the importance of working to bring the country together.
Biden’s chief of staff later Wednesday nudged the Trump team to sign the required federal agreements necessary to begin an orderly presidential transition, a White House official said.
Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung confirmed the White House invitation.
“President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call,” he said.
Biden chief of staff Jeff Zients reached out to Trump transition co-chairs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon to reiterate the important role the agreements with the White House and the General Services Administration play in beginning a presidential transition. The White House official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive transition planning.
A delay could hold up the federal government’s ability to begin processing security clearances for potential Trump administration national security appointees, which could limit the number of his staff who could work on sensitive information by Inauguration Day. It also means they can’t yet access federal facilities, documents and personnel to prepare for taking office.
The agreements are required by the Presidential Transition Act, and require the president-elect’s team to agree to an ethics plan and to limit and disclose private donations. Congress, in the act, set a deadline of Sept. 1 for the GSA agreement and Oct. 1 for the White House agreement, in an effort to ensure that incoming administrations are prepared to govern when they enter office on Jan. 20.
Praises for Harris
Biden also called Harris to salute her for her campaign. In a statement issued by the White House late on Wednesday, Biden also praised Harris as “a tremendous partner and public servant full of integrity, courage, and character.”
The president also noted that Harris entered the campaign under “extraordinary circumstances,” a nod to his dropping out of the race 108 days before Election Day amid growing pressure from within his party after his cataclysmic debate performance against Trump.
Biden added that Harris “stepped up and led a historic campaign that embodied what’s possible when guided by a strong moral compass and a clear vision for a nation that is more free, more just, and full of more opportunities for all Americans.”
According to Trump spokesman Steven Cheung, Trump and Harris spoke on a call where the president-elect “acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country.”
Democrats promise ‘peaceful’ transition of power
Shortly after Harris’ concession speech, a series of Democratic leaders and lawmakers issued their first statements in response to the election results and promised to ensure a “peaceful” transition for the incoming Republican administration.
Former President Barack Obama, along with former first lady Michelle Obama, said the election’s result “is obviously not the outcome we had hoped for” but noted that “living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won’t always win out, and being willing to accept the peaceful transfer of power.”
Congratulating Trump and Vance, the Obamas expressed pride for Harris and Walz, for both of whom they campaigned, calling them “two extraordinary public servants who ran a remarkable campaign.”
The Obamas cast forward with hope for a divided America, saying that the nation’s problems are solvable “only if we listen to each other, and only if we abide by the core constitutional principles and democratic norms that made this country great.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement late Wednesday, saying that “we all pray for America’s success under the next administration,” but did not make mention of Trump by name.
Pelosi was seen as the architect of the Democratic party’s strategic shift from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris as top of their ticket over the summer. The California Democrat has been Trump’s biggest critic, saying previously that her goal is to ensure Trump never enters the White House again.
“The peaceful transfer of power is the cornerstone of our democracy,” Pelosi said. “After every election, we all have a responsibility to come together and find common ground.”
“As deeply, deeply disappointed as I am by the results of the election, make no mistake: my Democratic colleagues and I — unlike many Republicans after the 2020 election — will uphold the will of the American people, fulfill our constitutional duty and do our part to ensure a peaceful transfer of power,” Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said in a statement.
Transition talks have not yet begun in earnest, according to a person with knowledge of the Trump campaign. Instead, the president-elect was busy taking calls from leaders, domestic and international, donors and key supporters. Transition discussions are expected to ramp up later in the week, as attention turns to naming an inaugural committee and formal transition team. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bernie Sanders calls for reckoning in Democratic Party
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders did not mince words in a scathing statement on Wednesday.
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Sanders, Vermont’s senior senator, said.
“First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well,” Sanders said.
Sanders won reelection to a fourth term on Tuesday. He singled out wealth inequality, a slipping standard of living in the US, a lack of full health care guarantees and support for Israel’s recent military campaigns as problems Democrats need to focus on. Sanders’s 2016 presidential run was a key factor in pushing the dialogue in the Democratic party to the left. Sanders has built his political career outside — and often criticizing — the Democratic Party, but he caucuses with Democrats in the Senate.
