White House dodges questions over Republican leaders admitting Biden beat Trump

Top GOP leaders urge Senate caucus to avoid challenging Electoral College results next month as party looks beyond Trump

Donald Trump’s top spokeswoman declined to say that the president now views Joe Biden as the president-elect after the Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, did just that.

“The president is still involved in ongoing litigation” related to the presidential election, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Tuesday.

The White House appeared to be caught off guard by a dramatic moment earlier on the Senate floor, when the majority leader declared the 2020 election over.

“The Electoral College has spoken,” Mr McConnell said. “So today I want to congratulate Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He’s devoted himself to public service for many years. I also want to congratulate the vice president, and our colleague from California, Senator [Kamala] Harris."

That marked the end of the majority leader’s backing of the outgoing president’s legal challenges of the 2020 race, which has seemed Mr Trump’s sole focus since Mr Biden was projected the winner on 9 November.

Asked specifically about Mr McConnell’s words, the outgoing top White House spokesperson said: “I will leave that to him."

“I haven’t gotten the president’s reaction to you on that,” she added.

Mr McConnell’s signaling he thinks the election has been decided came before he and other GOP members reportedly told their caucus on their weekly conference call to avoid objecting to the Electoral College results when the joint session of Congress meets 6 January to assess them.

At least one conservative House Republican, Mo Brooks of Alabama, has said he intends to challenge the result, a 306-232 win by Mr Biden codified on Monday. (It takes 270 votes to become president-elect.)

But Mr McConnell and his top deputies reportedly are pleading with GOP senators to leave Mr Brooks out in the cold, saying the requirement for other senators to vote down the challenge would make them seems anti-Trump. And with 20 GOP senators up for re-election in 2022, that would be a problem with the conservative base over which the president still has ample power. 

Other top GOP senators, including former Whip John Cornyn, currently Whip John Thune, and McConnell consigliere Roy Blunt on Monday told reporters the Electoral College’s vote should mark the end of the election.

But Mr Trump and his team is vowing to fight on.

"Tremendous evidence pouring in on voter fraud. There has never been anything like this in our Country!" Mr Trump wrote at 10:41 a.m. ET, about a half hour after Mr McConnell broke with him on live television