During a news conference on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that “there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration” and insisted that the results of the 2020 Presidential Election have yet to be finalized.
According to The Blaze, a reporter asked Pompeo, “Is the State Department currently preparing to engage with the Biden transition team, and if not, at what point does a delay hamper a smooth transition or pose a risk to national security?"
"There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration," Pompeo said in response. "Right?"
"We're ready," he continued, "The world is watching what's taking place, here. We're gonna count all the votes. When the process is complete, there will be electors selected."
"There's a process,” Pompeo further explained. “The Constitution lays it out pretty clearly. The world should have every confidence that the transition necessary to make sure that the State Department is functional today, successful today, and successful with a president who's in office on January 20, a minute after noon, will also be successful."
Pompeo was also asked “if such public misgivings about the electoral outcome 'discredit' U.S. efforts to promote free and fair elections overseas," the Washington Examiner reports.
As an example, Pompeo cited the contested 2000 presidential election and the time it took to officially declare a winner between then nominees Al Gore and George W. Bush, the later of whom would become the 43rd President of the United States.
"It took us 37 plus days in an election back in 2000, [we] conducted a successful transition then,” Pompeo noted. “I am very confident that we will count, and we must count every legal vote ... any vote that wasn't lawful ought not be counted. That dilutes your vote, if it's done improperly, right? When we get it right. We'll get it right. We're in good shape.”
Following his remarks, Pompeo was vehemently criticized by Democrats and mainstream media outlets for not accepting Joe Biden’s presumed election victory, despite the current allegations of voter fraud that is being investigated by the Trump administration.
“Look at reality. Secretary Pompeo, Joe Biden has won,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued in a press conference. “He's won the election. Now move on. Let's bring this country together and get things done. We have a COVID crisis raging. We don't have time for these kinds of games.”
.@SenSchumer: "Look at reality. Secretary Pompeo, Joe Biden has won. He's won the election. Now move on. Let's bring this country together and get things done. We have a COVID crisis raging. We don't have time for these kinds of games." pic.twitter.com/mwbeqoFd9D
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 10, 2020
While many, including the former Vice President himself, are already calling Biden the president-elect, it is up to the electoral college to make that decision official.
But first, the states have until Dec. 9 to work out the election results and settle any ongoing disputes. Then on Dec. 14, electors from all 50 states will cast their votes to declare the official winner of the presidential election.
Related:
Joe Biden Declared Winner by Media, Pledges to Unify America: 'Let's Give Each Other a Chance'
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Mark Wilson/Staff
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
