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- Ron Klain, President-elect Joe Biden’s recently selected White House chief of staff, said some Republican senators have privately been in contact with Biden.
- In an interview with MSNBC, Klain said he’s not “naming names” but that Biden is “having private conversations with individuals.”
- Since Biden was projected the winner of the presidential election, very few Republican senators have publicly congratulated him, while some have supported Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
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Ron Klain, President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming White House chief of staff, said some Republican senators have privately been in contact with Biden, meanwhile very few have publicly acknowledged him as the president-elect.
The comments were made during an interview on MSNBC, where Klain said Biden has reached out to come GOP senators and vice versa, though he declined to specifically name anyone.
Interviewer Lawrence O’Donnell asked whether senators had requested their names be hidden, or if Biden thought they should be hidden to protect them in the current political climate.
“I’m not naming names because we read out calls when we read out the calls, when both sides agree to read out the calls,” Klain said. “He’s having private conversations with individuals.”
Since Biden was projected the winner of the presidential election, very few Republican senators have publicly congratulated him, while some have supported Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud or encouraged his attempts to contest the results.
The president's sons have also tweeted out calls to Republicans to support their father, with Eric Trump saying "voters will never forget you if your sheep!"
Sen. Ted Cruz said it was too early for the president to concede, while Sen. Lyndsay Graham said he has personally donated $500,000 to Trump's legal efforts. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been less explicit, saying the president has a right to exhaust all legal challenges and recounts, though he has not yet acknowledged Biden as president-elect.
Read more: Biden just hired 4 people to tear down Trump's climate and energy policies
Some Republican senators have broken with Trump, including Sen. Mitt Romney, who congratulated Biden on Twitter shortly after the major networks called the race for Biden. Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Ben Sasse have all offered congratulations to Biden as well.
In the MSNBC interview, Klain also said Biden had a "nice call" with Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"The president-elect served in the Senate for more than 30 years. He has a lot of relationships up there," Klain said. "I think that's part of the reason why people elected him. They want to see an incoming president who can work with people in both parties."
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