US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated on Tuesday that the State Department, which heads US relations with the world, is working as if President Donald Trump won re-election, despite the election being called for president-elect Joe Biden.
"There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration," Pompeo said during a press conference, when asked when the State Department will begin transitioning to a Biden administration.
Pompeo added that the world "should have every confidence" in the State Department's transition process.
Pompeo's statement comes after Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election on Saturday by all major US broadcasters. Much of the world including Germany, Britain, and even Trump-allied Israel, have recognized Biden as the president-elect.
Trump and his administration have upended the typical transition process, by which a losing incumbent president starts coordinating their transition out of the White House soon after the election is called by the authoritative broadcasters.
Fraud allegations
Much of the Republican party has backed Trump as he spreads unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud and seeks to challenge vote counts in several states.
The US states are supposed to submit their official vote tallies next month, after which the state's electoral votes are allocated. Congress then certifies the results in early January before Biden is expected to assume the presidency on January 20.
Trump on Tuesday continued to tweet that his court challenges and recount efforts are "MAKING BIG PROGRESS" even as Biden's leads appear far too big for any challenges to affect the outcome in a significant way.
