Biden moving quickly despite Trump protests

WASHINGTON－Democrat Joe Biden took the first steps on Sunday toward moving into the White House in 73 days, as his rival Donald Trump again refused to admit defeat and tried to sow doubt about the election results.

With congratulations pouring in and supporters nursing hangovers after a night of celebrations, Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris were expected to receive a joint briefing on Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, from their transition COVID-19 advisory team.

Biden would then deliver remarks on the coronavirus and his plans for economic recovery. His team has also launched a transition website.

Meanwhile, Trump played golf at his course near Washington, the same place where he was on Saturday when news broke that Biden had secured enough Electoral College votes for victory.

"Since when does the Lamestream Media call who our next president will be?" Trump complained on social media on Sunday.

Trump, who has no public events scheduled for Monday, plans to file a string of lawsuits this week, according to his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who said he had "a lot of evidence" of fraud.

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

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 Jan 20, 2021, when Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.

Biden was expected to name a task force on Monday to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 237,000 people dead 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 Trump's travel ban on mostly Muslim countries.

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 runoff races in Georgia in January.

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.

Lawsuit in Pennsylvania

Giuliani told the Fox News show Sunday Morning Futures that 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," Giuliani said.

First Lady Melania Trump also chipped in on Sunday, tweeting: "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 Biden adviser Symone Sanders dismissed the court challenges as "baseless legal strategies".

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

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 Trump in 2016 when he upset Hillary Clinton.

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

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

But Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said the 74-year-old president should keep fighting.

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

The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and some other European countries sent congratulations to Biden, along with those from Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan and South Korea.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would wait until all legal challenges are resolved.

Agencies via Xinhua