Republican senator says he'll 'step in' if Joe Biden isn’t allowed access to security briefings

A Republican senator has come out and said he’ll "step in" if President-elect Joe Biden isn't allowed to receiving the daily security briefings by Friday. Senator James Lankford, an Oklahoma lawmaker who sits on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made the statement after Donald Trump not conceding the election or helping with the transition of power. Senator James Lankford told local KRMG radio that "there's nothing wrong with Vice President Biden getting the briefings to be able to prepare himself and so that he can be ready." Donald Trump is yet to come to terms with the 2020 election results and his administration has also refused to move forward with transition operations to help Biden’s incoming administration prepare to take over in January.

Emily Murphy, the General Services Administration’s administrator appointed by Trump, has refused to sign off on the transition process, reported PEOPLE. Emily Murphy has claimed there is no clarity on who won the election yet despite overwhelming evidence of Biden having beat Trump comfortably. Senator James Lankford is calling Republicans to enable the American President to be prepared in terms of national security. "There is no loss from him getting the briefings," said Lankford, 52. "If that's not occurring by Friday, I will step in as well and be able to push them and to say this needs to occur so that regardless of the outcome of the election, whichever way that it goes, people can be ready for that actual task." However, Lankford insists Trump will leave office peacefully. "I can assure you there will be a peaceful transition of power in the United States," Lankford said. "There is no question there will be a peaceful transition of power."

Joe Biden has called Trump's refusal to concede defeat an embarrassment. "We're just going to proceed the way we have. We're going to be doing exactly what we'd be doing if he'd conceded and said we won -- which we have. So there's nothing really changing," said Biden, reported CNN. The tacit silence from the Republican party is enabling Trump to not concede the election. The incumbent continues to spread conspiracy theories that the election was rigged despite not actually providing any proof backing his claims. Over the past week, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has been making TV appearances with a binder purportedly containing proof of voter fraud. While the number of binders seemed to be increasing with each day, she's yet to actually provide proof of voter fraud, on TV, or even in court.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stirred controversy when he suggested the only transition the administration was planning was one into Trump's second term at the White House. "There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration. We're ready," said the secretary of state when asked about Trump's refusal to concede the election. "The world is watching what's taking place. We're going to count the votes, when the process is complete there will be electors selected. There's a process, the Constitution lays it out pretty clearly," added Pompeo, hinting at voter fraud. 

Fox News has also been airing anonymous accounts of people claiming the election was fraudulent, with one account on Laura Ingraham's show sounding suspiciously like Donald Trump himself. It certainly wouldn't be the first time Trump has called into the media pretending to be someone else to further his own agenda. In 1991, when Trump called reporter Sue Carswell claiming to be his PR man "John Miller" and boasted about Trump sleeping around with multiple women, reported Mother Jones. An audiotape of the call released by The Washington Post all but confirms it's Donald Trump himself.

Former Republican strategist Tim Miller accused the party members of trying to protect the President's feelings, reported MSN News. "They all know he lost, and they are lying about it to protect his little feelings. It’s insane," said Miller. "They’re all playing pretend because Donald wants a participation trophy, and there are real human consequences — not just to our democracy, but threats to individuals and their lives."