Despite the Electoral College convening on Monday to cast their votes and certify Joe Biden as the next President of the United States, Donald Trump still refuses to concede the election. This will likely not matter on January 20, when Joe Biden is sworn in, as the mechanisms of the transfer of power are already turning. However, it does cast a shadow over the incoming administration among Republicans, the majority of whom believe Joe Biden is only taking office due to voter fraud, which Trump has alleged without providing any evidence.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally accepted that Biden was president-elect in remarks on the Senate floor. “The electoral college has spoken. Today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.”
McConnell’s lead in this regard is notable. When Trump leaves office, if Republicans still hold a Senate majority, McConnell will wield considerable political power. It is important for members of his party to go along with his leadership or risk ostracizing themselves. Many Senate Republicans had still refused to accept Biden as the next president on Monday before McConnell formally issued his congratulations.
Inevitable but Stressful
Many of Biden’s supporters have noted that Monday’s outcome was as inevitable as it was stressful. Once vote totals were tallied and certified, the wheels of democracy were turning. Some pundits had worried that Donald Trump would go to the extreme lengths to contest the results of the election, some going as far as to raise the specter of a military coup. However, unlike a dictator, Trump commands little power to actively manipulate election results.
The inevitability of each step of the process was partly due to the codified nature of election in the US. Thanks to the Constitution and some scattered legislation from over the years, there are several dates that serve as markers for each state’s election officials. The safe harbor date, for instance, allows states to lock in their certified results ahead of the Electoral College convening.
What’s Next?
The next step for the election process is for the Electoral College results to be read before Congress. During this January 6 hearing, McConnell has called on his party to not challenge any state’s election results. According to a source close to McConnell, he feels such an effort would be fruitless and would set the Republican Party directly against the incoming administration.
Joe Biden has been adamant that he’ll be able to compromise and find middle ground with McConnell, who has been described as an obstructionist politician. Whether he’ll be able to pass any meaningful legislation while McConnell holds a majority in the Senate remains to be seen, however.
