US First Lady Melania Trump echoed US President Donald Trump's call to count every 'legal vote' "The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal — not illegal — vote should be counted," Melania Trump tweeted on Saturday. President Trump has alleged that there were irregularities in the election despite having no evidence. They claim Republican observers were not allowed to watch vote counting even though there are always observers from both parties present. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan was one of the first Republicans to congratulate Joe Biden on winning the presidential election. "Now more than ever we need to come together as Americans," Hogan said. "Everyone should want our president to succeed because we need our country to succeed. We have great challenges ahead of us as a country. Now more than ever, we need to come together as Americans," Gov. Hogan tweeted. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, also a Republican, congratulated the President-elect, stating that if there are court battles, they should move quickly. "If the courts do get involved, they must move quickly to make fact-based, lawful decisions, because the people of this nation — who came out and voted in record numbers — deserve a government that can work collaboratively to fight COVID-19, rebuild our economy and give people hope that there will be a positive path forward," Baker said. Trump, meanwhile, has refused to concede the US presidential election, repeating his claim that the election was "stolen" while retweeting a quote from former US Speaker Newt Gingrich. Republican Senator Mitt Romney said that Trump had "a relatively relaxed relationship with the truth, adding that he would "prefer to see the world watching a more graceful departure but that's just not in the nature of the man." Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of administration officials from the Barack Obama, George W Bush, and Bill Clinton administrations on Sunday called on the Trump administration to move forward "to immediately begin the post-election transition process." "This was a hard-fought campaign, but history is replete with examples of presidents who emerged from such campaigns to graciously assist their successors," members of the Center for Presidential Transition advisory board said in a statement. The statement was signed by Bush White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt as well as Bill Clinton-era chief of staff Thomas "Mack" McLarty and Obama Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. — Agencies
