US presidential transition accelerates amid growing concern about an Iranian counter-strike on Israel
Arizona will on Monday become the latest state to certify its presidential election result.
The result in Arizona was the one that caused most anger in the White House on election night.
So we should brace for more furious Trump tweets as that western battleground state puts its electors formally into Biden’s column.
America is just two weeks away from the Electoral College meeting that will confirm that Joe Biden is America’s next president. At that point, all the complaints and legal challenges in the world will be irrelevant.
But even now Donald Trump is still sowing doubts in the result and showing no sign of conceding. His tweets overnight include more claims that he couldn’t have lost the election, without providing any evidence.
While the President remains isolated in the White House, with only golf and a dwindling band of loyalists to console him, Joe Biden’s transition is gathering pace.
On Monday he will receive for the first time the Presidential Daily Brief, the CIA’s top-secret intelligence assessment of the major threats facing the US.
It’s a sign that Washington and its spy agencies are now preparing for the imminent transfer of power.
The PDB, as it’s known, is particularly critical for Biden to receive this week amid the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel after the assassination of Tehran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Iran has vowed revenge and there are mounting concerns of a counter-strike on an Israeli target.
Democrats also suspect that President Trump may be trying to sabotage any attempt by the incoming Biden team to reestablish the West’s nuclear pact with Iran.
President Obama’s CIA director gave a highly critical response to the assassination, calling it criminal and reckless. John Brennan also urged Iran to wait for Biden’s presidency before deciding how to respond.
Amid this national security tension, Joe Biden suffered a small personal setback - fracturing two bones in his foot while playing with his dog over the weekend.
His mobility is expected to be limited for the next two weeks.
Donald Trump, who for so long mocked Biden for his health and alleged frailty, appeared to send his condolences to his successor.
Whether it was sarcastic is unclear.
There are 51 days until the Inauguration. That worries the incoming team.
It’s 51 days in which Trump can cause trouble on the international stage and make Biden’s foreign policy in-tray even more complicated.