As Donald Trump still refuses to concede, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory publicly for the first time by referring to “the new administration” when speaking about plans for a new coronavirus relief package on Tuesday.
“I think we all know that after the first of the year there’s likely to be a discussion about additional — some additional package of some size next year depending upon what the new administration wants to pursue,” McConnell said during a press conference on Tuesday.
McConnell’s comments come After weeks of staying relatively silent on Biden’s win.
The Kentucky Republican has not yet explicitly recognized the election results by using his name when referring to “the new administration.”
Last month, McConnell promised an orderly transition of power “from this administration to the next one.”
“All of it will happen right on time, and we’ll swear in the next administration on Jan. 20,” he said during a Nov. 17 press conference.
Immediately following the election, McConnell and other Kentucky Republicans did not acknowledge Biden’s victory, saying the courts must resolve disputes about Americans’ votes.
He also refused to address President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud in states he lost.
When asked if McConnell’s comment Tuesday was meant as an acknowledgment of Biden’s win, his spokeswoman sent the senate majority leader’s response to a question asked at the press conference about his silence amid the president’s claims that the election has been rigged.
“As I’ve said repeatedly, we have this government for the next three weeks for sure, and what I’m focusing on is trying to accomplish as much as we can during this three week period, which requires dealing with the government that we have right now,” McConnell said. “The future will take care of itself, as I’ve said repeatedly. We’re going to go through these processes. The Electoral College is going to meet December the 14th. There will be an inauguration January 20th.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also has stayed silent on Biden’s victory, along with multiple other Republican leaders, as Trump continues to refuse to concede the election.
A handful of Republican senators have explicitly acknowledged Biden’s win, including Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who extended his congratulations to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris shortly after Biden’s victory was projected.
Watch:
.@senatemajldr Mitch McConnell with a backdoor admission @realDonaldTrump lost the #2020Election to @JoeBiden when talking about the "new administration."
Watch: pic.twitter.com/LpZZ7tpk2c #Biden #KYSen
— Philmonger (@phillipmbailey) December 1, 2020
