President Donald Trump, facing the prospect of leaving the White House in defeat in just 70 days, is harnessing the power of the federal government to resist the results of an election that he lost, something that no sitting president has done in American history.
In the latest sign of defiance, the president’s senior Cabinet secretary indicated on Tuesday that he did not expect Trump to hand over power to President-elect Joe Biden after legal challenges to the vote. "There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
Trump’s attorney general has at the same time authorized investigations into supposed vote fraud; his general services administrator has refused to give Biden’s team access to transition offices and resources guaranteed under law; and the White House is preparing a budget for next year as if Trump will be around to present it.