The list of Republican senators urging President Donald Trump to work with former Vice President Joe Biden’s transition team grew on Monday.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) wrote in an opinion-editorial for the Cincinnati Enquirer that while he supports the president’s right to challenging the 2020 presidential election’s results, he should still work with Team Biden to ensure an “orderly transfer of power”.
“There were instances of fraud and irregularities in this election, as there have been in every election. It is good that those have been exposed and any fraud or other wrongdoing should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Portman noted. “But there is no evidence as of now of any widespread fraud or irregularities that would change the result in any state.”
“It is now time to expeditiously resolve any outstanding questions and move forward,” the senator wrote, adding, “in the likely event that Joe Biden becomes our next president, it is in the national interest that the transition is seamless and that America is ready on Day One of a new administration for the challenges we face.”
On Sunday, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said that it was “past time” to begin the transition to a Biden administration.
“I agree there has to be an end. I frankly do think it’s time —well, it was past time to start a transition or at least to cooperate with the transition,” Cramer told NBC’s Meet the Press. “I would rather have a president that has more than one day to prepare should Joe Biden end up winning this. But in the meantime, again, he’s just exercising his legal options.”
In addition to Portman and Cramer, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) has also called on President Trump to work with the Biden transition team. His remarks came after a federal judge tossed out a Trump campaign lawsuit challenging the results in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
“I congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory. They are both dedicated public servants and I will be praying for them and for our country,” Toomey said. “Unsurprisingly, I have significant policy disagreements with the President-elect. However, as I have done throughout my career, I will seek to work across the aisle with him and his administration, especially on those areas where we may agree, such as continuing our efforts to combat COVID-19, breaking down barriers to expanding trade, supporting the men and women of our armed forces, and keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.”
Other senators who have made similar pleas include Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Susan Collins (R-ME).