Chamber of Commerce Pushes Trump to Begin Transition Process

After the Associated Press called the presidential election for Joe Biden back on November 7th, many believed that the peaceful transfer of power would begin immediately.  But, with Donald Trump and his team still working to verify the results of the election, no such normalcy is in sight nearly two weeks later.

The Trump administration has already refused to sign the paperwork to allow for Biden to have access to the massive transition funding apparatus, and the President himself certainly hasn’t conceded the election, believing that his legal team will provide ample evidence to make the Associated Press eat their words.

But not everyone agrees, and a great many within the American political system are imploring the Commander in Chief to get on with it, including now the Chamber of Commerce. 

The head of the Republican-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce is urging President Trump to move on with the transition to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.

The chamber, which typically has favored Republican candidates who support lower taxes and fewer regulations, joins a chorus of business groups imploring Trump to stop delaying the transition to the next president while he challenges the vote counts in multiple states.

“President-elect Biden and the team around him have a wealth of executive branch experience that should allow them to hit the ground running,” chamber CEO Tom Donohue said in a statement provided to Axios. “While the Trump administration can continue litigating to confirm election outcomes, for the sake of American safety and well-being, it should not delay the transition a moment longer.”

The move came after a US business giant expressed similar beliefs.

On Tuesday, a similar plea for Trump to smooth Biden’s path to the presidency was voiced by Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers and the heads of Dow Chemical, Trane Technologies and other companies.

“The next two months are critical to our nation’s ability to successfully deal with twin crises: controlling the spread of Covid 19 and rebuilding the US economy,” they said in a statement. “While we understand and respect the court challenges that are part of our democratic process, it’s imperative that our nation has a president and advisors who are fully prepared to lead our nation on Inauguration Day given the magnitude of the challenges ahead and the threats to our economic and national security, and most importantly, to the public health.”

The plea will likely fall on deaf ears in the West Wing, as President Trump and his supporters have vowed to take their battle to the bitter end.