White House instructs senior officials to block any cooperation with Biden's transition team: Washington Post

As President Donald Trump refuses to concede that he lost the presidential election, his administration issued new orders on Monday, the first weekday since all of the networks called the race for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Saturday.

"The Trump White House on Monday instructed senior government leaders to block cooperation with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, escalating a standoff that threatens to impede the transfer of power and prompting the Biden team to consider legal action," The Washington Post reported Monday. "Officials at agencies across the government who had prepared briefing books and carved out office space for the incoming Biden team to use as soon as this week were told instead that the transition would not be recognized until the Democrat’s election was confirmed by the General Services Administration, the low-profile agency that officially starts the transition."

The newspaper granted anonymity so a "senior administration official" could speak candidly.

“We have been told: Ignore the media, wait for it to be official from the government,” the official said.

The Biden campaign held a call with reporters on Monday to voice its displeasure with the situation.

"The GSA, the government’s real estate arm, remained for a third day the proxy in the battle. Administrator Emily Murphy, a Trump political appointee who has lasted a full term in an administration where turnover has been the norm, is refusing to sign paperwork that releases Biden’s $6.3 million share of nearly $10 million in transition resources and gives his team access to agency officials and information," the newspaper reported.