White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is insisting that the Electoral College’s vote was just “one step in the constitutional process,” and that President Donald Trump is continuing his legal efforts to contest the election results.
McEnany was asked during a press conference on Tuesday, “Now that the Electoral College has voted, does the President acknowledge that Joe Biden is the President-elect? Does he have any plans to invite him to the White House?”
“The president is still involved in ongoing litigation related to the election,” she responded. “Yesterday’s vote was one step in the constitutional process, so I will leave that to him and refer you to the campaign for more on that litigation.”
She also said that she has not heard Trump’s reaction to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) decision to congratulate Biden and call him the president-elect.
Finally, she was asked what legal options Trump has left to overturn the results of the election. She said, “The campaign would have more specifics for you on legal recourse, but yesterday was one step in the constitutional process leading up to the Jan. 20 date in the Constitution.”
Watch the video below:
Reporter: "Now that the Electoral College has voted, does the President acknowledge that Joe Biden is the President-elect? Does he have any plans to invite him to the White House?"
— The Hill (@thehill) December 15, 2020
Kayleigh McEnany: "The President is still involved in ongoing litigation." pic.twitter.com/AIacFJj4RD
The Electoral College formalized Biden’s win on Monday after electors in all 50 states cast their votes for the former vice president, as IJR reported.
After the vote, several Republican senators, including McConnell, called Biden the president-elect.
In a floor speech on Tuesday, McConnell said, “Yesterday electors met in all 50 states. So, as of this morning, our country has officially a president-elect and a vice president-elect.”
“Many millions of us had hoped the presidential election would yield a different result. But our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on January the 20th. The electoral college has spoken.”
He added, “Today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He’s devoted himself to public service for many years.”
While Trump has continued to allege there was widespread voter fraud that cost him his reelection bid, his options for overturning the results of the election are rapidly narrowing.
Congressional Republicans can object to the Electoral College vote count being certified on Jan. 6. But, McConnell is reportedly urging his colleagues against taking such action.
