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Trump-Biden transition updates: At least 20 arrested, 1 stabbed at DC protests
The event was largely peaceful, but grew violent after crowds thinned at night.
President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward with transition plans, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede the election one week after Biden was projected as the winner of the presidential race.
Trump has largely hunkered down inside the White House since the election, but on Saturday his motorcade drove drove past supporters gathered to rally in Washington, D.C., on his way to play golf.
Biden, meanwhile, is pressing forward, meeting with transition advisers in Delaware and calling Trump's refusal to concede "an embarrassment."
The Biden transition team and the Trump administration are in a standoff over whether Biden should be granted access to federal resources allocated for the transition of power. The General Services Administration, headed by a Trump appointee, has yet to officially recognize Biden as the victor in the election, preventing Biden's team from gaining full access to government funds and security information.
But a growing number of Republican senators are calling on the administration to start giving Biden classified intelligence briefings, a sign that support for Trump's refusal to concede the election may be waning among his allies on Capitol Hill.
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McConnell says Electoral College will determine outcome of election
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that he wouldn't recognize the outcome of the election until the Electoral College meets next month.
"Until the Electoral College votes, anyone who's running for office can exhaust concerns about counting in any court of appropriate jurisdiction. It is not unusual; it should not be alarming. At some point here we will find out finally who is certified in each of these states and the Electoral College will determine the winner and that person will be sworn in on January 20. No reason for alarm."
Asked about McConnell's earlier comments, Biden, speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, said it reflects the position of several Republicans who are facing pressure from the president.
“I think that the whole Republican party has been put in a position, with a few notable exceptions, of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president. But there's only one president at a time. He's president,” Biden said. “We're gonna have the Electoral College -- will be making their judgment in December. It will be announced in early January. But in the meantime, I hope to get a chance to speak to Mitch."
ABC News' Allison Pecorin
Pompeo: 'There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration'
Asked during an ongoing press conference whether the State Department agency will assist with a smooth transition to the Biden administration and "at what point does a delay hamper a smooth transition or pose a risk to national security," Secretary of State Pompeo responded: "There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration."
"I'm very confident that we will do all the things that are necessary to make sure that the government, the United States government continues to perform its national security function as we go forward," Pompeo said.
His comments come as several foreign heads of states have already congratulated Biden on the election.
-ABC News' Conor Finnegan
Pence ignores questions about whether it's time to concede
A masked Vice President Mike Pence, arriving at the Senate GOP lunch Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, ignored reporter questions about whether it's time for the president to concede the presidential race.
"Mr. Vice President, is it time to concede?" a reporter asked. "Is there really any evidence of fraud?"
The vice president did not answer and kept on walking.
Pence, in contrast to Trump, has been maintaining a public schedule despite the president's projected loss over the weekend. His visit to Capitol Hill comes one day after leading his first coronavirus task force meeting in some three weeks. Pence made sure cameras got a shot of him walking across from the Executive Office Building to the West Wing before meeting with the president Monday.
Meanwhile, this is the fifth day Trump has no public schedule.
-ABC News' Jordyn Phelps
Boris Johnson congratulates Biden despite Trump's refusal to concede
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson joins a growing list of foreign heads of state to congratulate Biden despite Trump's continued refusal to concede.
Johnson tweeted Tuesday afternoon that the two discussed their "shared priorities – from tackling climate change, to promoting democracy, and building back better from the coronavirus pandemic."
A Downing Street spokesperson told pool reporters Johnson and Biden discussed the countries' partnership through NATO -- an alliance Trump has repeatedly slammed.
Johnson also invited Biden to attend the COP26 climate change summit that the United Kingdom is hosting in Glasgow next year and said he also looks forward to seeing him when the UK hosts the G7 Summit in 2021, according to the spokesperson.