President Trump in effect conceded defeat to Joe Biden last night by instructing government officials to begin a formal transition of power. After almost three weeks of claiming that he had won the presidential election but had been robbed by mass fraud, Mr Trump said he had decided to follow “protocols” designed to smooth Mr Biden’s path to the Oval Office. Nevertheless, he vowed to “keep up the good fight”, challenging the election results. Despite the bullish rhetoric his legal avenues are limited, Republican senators are abandoning him and the transition is unlikely to be reversed. The procedural move means that $10 million of government funds set aside for the transition can be released to Mr Biden, 78, who named the first six members

Source: The Times November 24, 2020 01:07 UTC