POOL

Washington DC - 10 November 2020

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader:

"What I'm going to do here in the Senate is concentrate on the business that we have left to do, which I mentioned a while ago, an omnibus appropriation bill, maybe another coronavirus package, and let the presidential election go through the various stages that it, that it goes through under the Constitution. There will be apparently litigation. Those cases will be decided and then the Electoral College will meet and then we'll have the inauguration. But I am going to concentrate on what we are trying to do here in the remainder of this Congress."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASH++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader:

"I don't think we're going to have an interrupted transition to whoever is the next administration. I think we ought to quit all the hand wringing and not act like this is extraordinary. We're going to get through this period and will swear in the winner on January the 20th, 2021, just like we have every four years since 1793."

3. Sen. Mitch McConnell walks away from press conference as reporter ask questions

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4296949

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday " I think we ought to quit all the hand wringing" as President Donald Trump, backed by Republicans in Congress, pursues legal challenges to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's election victory.

Republicans are increasingly pointing to a December deadline as they give Trump time and space to exhaust his legal challenges. That's when the states face a deadline to certify results and a Dec. 14 deadline for the Electoral College to cast its votes. It's also about the time it took to resolve the 2000 election dispute between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.

"Those cases will be decided and then the Electoral College will meet and then we'll have the inauguration," McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill.

"I don't think we're going to have an interrupted transition to whoever is the next administration. I think we ought to quit all the hand wringing and not act like this is extraordinary."

Trump's GOP allies in Congress have largely declined to congratulate Biden, and instead they are backing up Trump's efforts to pursue legal challenges, even though privately many Republicans doubt he has any legitimate path to change the outcome. Trump and his GOP allies haven't offered any proof of election fraud and their legal challenges have largely been rejected by the courts.

Still, Republicans are unwilling to stray from Trump, even in defeat, or anger his most ardent supporters ahead of the Jan. 5 runoff elections in Georgia that will determine majority control of the Senate. Two Republican senators are struggling to keep their seats against Democratic challengers.

President-elect Joe Biden says "nothing going to stop" his administration's moving forward despite President Donald Trump's refusal to concede the race.

Speaking to reporters McConnell addressed the Senates remaining business, saying there were no plans for another multi trillion dollar coronavirus economic stimulus package in the future.