Biden transition gets under way despite legal challenges

Trump allies defiant as US president-elect makes first policy moves

Joe Biden, the president-elect and his wife, Jill, on the campaign trail in Cleveland, Ohio, prior to Mr Biden's election victory. Reuters

Joe Biden, the US president-elect, took the first steps on Sunday towards moving into the White House in 73 days, as President Donald Trump again refused to admit defeat and tried to sow doubt about the election results.

With congratulations pouring in from world leaders and supporters nursing hangovers after a night of celebrations, Mr Biden and Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect, launched a transition website, BuildBackBetter.com, and a Twitter feed, @Transition46.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump played golf at his course near Washington, the same place where he was on Saturday when the US television networks delivered the news that Mr Biden had secured enough electoral college votes for victory.

Senator Joe Biden with his sons Beau, left, and Hunter and his future wife Jill in an undated photo. AFP

US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., announces on September 23, 1987 that he is withdrawing from the race for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, as his wife Jill grasps his arm. AFP

US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., speaks on July 13, 1989 before a House of Representatives panel about flag burning. Biden, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told House members that his bill to outlaw flag burning was the best way to overcome the Supreme Court ruling which protects the action as a form of free speech. Other lawmakers insisted that only a onstitutional amendment would suffice. AFP

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) speaks to reporters in front of a Danish U.N. armoured personnel carrier at the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia April 9, 1993. REUTERS

US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., speaks to reporters after meeting with US President Bill Clinton at the White House on February 10, 1995 to discuss Dr. Henry Foster's nomination for surgeon general. Calling Clinton's choice a "political blunder in teh extreme", Biden told reporters that the president should withdraw the nomination and move on. AFP

US President George W. Bush answers reporter's questions prior to a bipartisan meeting with congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House, 25 July 2001. Listening are Senator Joe Biden D-DE and Senator John Warner (R-VA). AFP

US Senators Ted Kennedy (L), D-MA, Joe Biden (C), D-DE, and Barbara Mikulski (R), D-MD, tour ground zero 20 September 2001 in New York, nine days after the destruction of the World Trade Center. AFP

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon laughs with Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Senator Joe Biden during a meeting at the US Capitol 11 June 2002. AFP

Colombian President Andres Pastrana is greeted 17 April, 2002, by Sen. Joe Biden, D-DE, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the US Capitol in Washington, DC before Pastrana met with that committee. AFP

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri attends a meeting with Sen. Joe Biden, (D-DE), and other members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee 17 April 2002 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP

US Senator Joseph Biden Jr. (R-DE) hosts King Abdullah of Jordan and Queen Rania at a Senate Foreign Relations luncheon 08 May, 2002 during their visit to the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP

Democratic presidential hopefuls US Senator Joe Biden, US Senator Barack Obama and US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton arrive at the Democratic Party Presidential Primary Debate, 26 April 2007, at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. AFP

Demoratic Delaware Senator Joe Biden speaking with unidentified soldiers about the effectiveness and life-saving technology of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle(rear) during a visit to Ramadi, Iraq, 06 September, 2007. AFP

Actress Angelina Jolie, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and Sen. Joseph Biden ,D-DE, take their seats before a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill 28 September, 2005 in Washington, DC. AFP

US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, running mate Delware Senator Joe Biden with his wife Jill greet people gathered on the lawn of the Old State Capitol on August 23, 2008 in Springfield, Illinois. AFP

US Vice President Joe R. Biden waits for a meeting with US President Barack Obama and Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Oval Office of the White House October 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP

British Prime Minister David Cameron greets Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States of America, at the UK ambassador's residence on July 20, 2010 in Washington, DC. AFP

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden shakes hands with seven-year-old Gao Shan, the boy Biden proclaimed as the future president of China, during a visit to the village of Yanzikou, north of Beijing, 10 August 2001. AFP

US President Barack Obama awards Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a tribute to Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 12, 2017. AFP

U.S. President Barack Obama, front, embraces U.S. Vice President Joe Biden after his farewell address in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Obama blasted "zero-sum" politics as he drew a sharp contrast with his successor in his farewell address Tuesday night, acknowledging that despite his historic election eight years ago his vision for the country will exit the White House with him. Bloomberg

Cindi Leive, Dr. Jill Biden, and Joe Biden speak onstage during Glamour Celebrates 2017 Women Of The Year Live Summit at Brooklyn Museum on November 13, 2017 in New York City. Getty Images

"Since when does the Lamestream Media call who our next president will be?" Mr Trump complained in a tweet on Sunday.

Mr Trump plans to file a string of lawsuits in the coming week, according to his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who said he had "a lot of evidence" of fraud.

But former president George W Bush said the "outcome is clear" and added that he had called "President-elect" Mr Biden and Ms Harris to extend his congratulations.

Mr Bush said "the American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair... We must come together for the sake of our families and neighbours, and for our nation and its future."

The first lawsuit will be Pennsylvania. The second will either be Michigan or Georgia

Mr Biden's transition website lists four priorities: Covid-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change.

"The team being assembled will meet these challenges on day one," it said in a reference to January 20, 2021, when Mr Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the US.

Mr Biden, who turns 78 on November 20, is the oldest person yet to win the White House. Ms Harris, 56, a senator from California, is the first woman, first black person and first South Asian person to be elected vice president.

Mr Biden plans to unveil a task force on Monday to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 237,000 people in the United States and is surging across the country.

He has also announced plans to rejoin the Paris climate accord and will reportedly issue an executive order on his first day in office reversing Mr Trump's travel ban on mostly Muslim countries.

Mr Biden has vowed to name a cabinet that reflects the diversity of the country, although he may have trouble gaining approval for more progressive appointees if Republicans retain control of the Senate – an outcome that will depend on two run-off races in Georgia in January.

Legal challenges 

The Trump campaign has mounted legal challenges to the results in several states, but no evidence has emerged of any widespread irregularities that would affect the results.

Mr Giuliani told the Fox News show Sunday Morning Futures that Mr Trump's team would file a lawsuit in Pennsylvania on Monday against officials "for violating civil rights, for conducting an unfair election [and] for violating the law of the state".

"The first lawsuit will be Pennsylvania. The second will either be Michigan or Georgia. And over the course of the week, we should get it all pulled together," Mr Giuliani said.

First Lady Melania Trump also chipped in, tweeting on Sunday: "The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal – not illegal – vote should be counted."

Speaking on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, senior adviser to Mr Biden Symone Sanders dismissed the court challenges as "baseless legal strategies".

Mr Biden received nearly 74.6 million votes to Mr Trump's 70.4 million nationwide and has a 279-214 lead in the Electoral College that determines the presidency.

Mr Biden also leads in Arizona, which has 11 electoral votes, and Georgia, which has 16. If he wins both, he would finish with 306 electoral votes – the same total won by Mr Trump in 2016 when he upset Hillary Clinton.

Only two Republican senators, Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski, have congratulated Mr Biden.

Democratic Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina said the Republican Party has a "responsibility" to help convince Mr Trump it is time to give up.

Mr Romney, who voted to convict Mr Trump at his impeachment trial, said the president would eventually "accept the inevitable".

The Utah senator said he "would prefer to see the world watching a more graceful departure, but that's just not in the nature of the man".

But Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, an ally of Mr Trump, said the 74-year-old president should keep fighting.

"We will work with Biden if he wins, but Trump has not lost," Mr Graham said on Fox News. "Do not concede, Mr President. Fight hard."