Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Pat Toomey: Transition Process for Joe Biden ‘Ought to Begin’

In this Feb. 3, 2020, file photo, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., walks at the Capitol in Washingt
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Hannah Knudsen

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) strayed from some of his outspoken GOP colleagues and expressed the belief that the transition process for Joe Biden (D) “ought to begin.”

“We’re on a path it looks likely Joe Biden is going to be the next president of the United States. It’s not 100 percent certain but it is quite likely,” Toomey told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 in a Monday interview. “So I think a transition process ought to begin.”

Despite his urge for the Trump administration to begin working with Biden’s team, he left the door open to the “unlikely scenario” of President Trump emerging victorious after recounts and lawsuits.

“And you know, if it turns out that the unlikely scenario actually comes about and it turns out President Trump is determined to have won this election after all, then the transition, of course, becomes moot, and it expires and it evaporates,” Toomey said.

“But I think that’s not the likely outcome, so I think it (the transition) should begin,” the GOP senator said, though he stressed that a “legitimate process is one that goes to the end.”

That, he added, can include both recounts and legal challenges.

“We’re very, very close to the end of the process but we’re not quite there yet. And it’s okay, in fact, it’s necessary to go through the entire process,” Toomey said.

President Trump has taken a dramatically different tone, expressing confidence that he will emerge as the victor.

“Highly Respected Ken Starr: ‘Pennsylvania’s three-day extension of the mail-in ballot deadline is a Constitutional Travesty.’ Legal scholars agree!” Trump said in a Tuesday tweet, adding that “WE WILL WIN”:

Several GOP lawmakers have demonstrated support for Trump’s battle over election integrity, including Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

“The president has every right to look into allegations and to request recounts under the law and notably the Constitution gives no role in this process to wealthy media corporations,” McConnell told his colleagues on Monday.

“Our institutions are actually built for this,” he continued. “We have the system in place to consider concerns and President Trump is 100 percent within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) also maintained a tone of confidence on Tuesday, telling reporters that there will be a “smooth transition to a second Trump administration”:

As for mass mail-in voting, Toomey said the Keystone State should move on and revert to traditional methods in the future.

“I think this pandemic is going to be behind us soon,” he told the outlet. “I hope and I’m confident it will be.”

“And I think it would be wise for Pennsylvania to return to the ways we’ve been casting votes for 240 years prior to this election,” Toomey added.

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