U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien is making it clear that there will be a “professional transition” of power.
Since several major outlets projected President-elect Joe Biden as the winner, President Donald Trump has refused to concede the election and has pressed forward with lawsuits in multiple states.
During a conversation with The Hill’s editor at large Steve Clemons at the Global Security Forum on Monday, O’Brien noted that he believes that at the moment the results of the presidential election are clear in that Biden won. However, he did keep with the idea that Trump could still win if the courts determine there was widespread voter fraud.
O’Brien said, “If there is a new administration, they deserve some time to come in and implement their policies.”
He added:
“We may have policy disagreements, but look, if the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner — and obviously things look that way now — we’ll have a very professional transition from the National Security Council. There’s no question about it.”
O’Brien, however, indicated that a transition would only occur “if the current lawsuits don’t work out for the president.”
NEW: NSA O'Brien says, "If the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner, and … obviously things look that way now, we'll have a very professional transition from the National Security Council." pic.twitter.com/jZnVIrroDc
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 16, 2020
While O’Brien noted a transition of administrations would be “very professional,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently declared there will be a “second Trump administration.”
“There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration,” Pompeo said at a press conference on Nov. 10.
Pompeo was pressed on if he was joking during a Fox News interview, to which he responded, “We’ll have a smooth transition and we’ll see what the people ultimately decided when all the votes have been cast.”
“I am very confident that we will have a good transition. That we will make sure that whoever is in office on noon on January 20, has all the tools readily available so that we don’t skip a beat with the capacity to keep Americans safe,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took a swipe at Pompeo for his remarks, previously saying, “Look at reality. Secretary Pompeo, Joe Biden has won. He’s won the election. Now move on. Let’s bring this country together and get things done. We have a COVID crisis raging. We don’t have time for these kinds of games.”
Georgia is recounting the ballots cast in the presidential election, and the state has to have it finished in time for the results to be certified on Nov. 20. In the state, Biden was projected the winner, with just over 14,000 more votes than Trump.
Biden is projected to have 306 Electoral College votes out of the 270 electoral votes need to win the White House. States are to formally certify their results by Dec. 14, according to CBS News.