Washington

PRESIDENT-elect Joe Biden is moving more forcefully to make the transition to the White House, even as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other senior Republicans give US President Donald Trump cover to pursue his legal challenges to the outcome of the election.

Mr Biden, who is likely to name his chief of staff this week, is also forging ahead on policy. After naming his transition's coronavirus task force on Monday, he plans to speak on Tuesday on the Affordable Care Act, the same day the Supreme Court takes up a case that could gut the Obama administration's signature health-care law. Mr Biden has promised to expand it in the face of the worst pandemic in a century.

Yet as Mr Trump continued to rage on Twitter and without evidence that his victory had been stolen by fraud, Mr McConnell said on Monday that the president is "100 per cent within his rights" to challenge the election results. And Attorney General William Barr authorised Justice Department officials to open inquiries into potential irregularities in the presidential election, though he acknowledged there is no conclusive evidence.

The legal transition process remained bogged down as the Republican Party stood behind Mr Trump and his insistence that the election was not over, leaving Mr Biden with messaging to emphasise his presidential posture.

Late Monday, Mr Biden's transition team insisted that the Trump administration ascertain the Democrat as the winner, an act that would release millions of dollars in funding and unlock access to federal resources, such as secure rooms for intelligence briefings and State Department facilitation of calls with foreign leaders.

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Transition officials threatened legal action because the law says the resources must be released when there is "an apparent winner". At one of a series of news conferences staged by Trump allies since the race was called on Saturday, the Republican Party on Monday said it was filing lawsuits over "irregularities" in voting, but like others, did not provide any substantial evidence to back up their claims.

"If you are finding these irregularities, if you are being told to backdate ballots, that's a problem. We're going to pursue all of this," Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said without offering evidence of her claims. Mr McConnell also did not recognise Biden's victory.

Mr Biden has secured 290 Electoral College votes, said the Associated Press and networks, more than the 270 required for election. Mr Trump has 213.

Only four Republican Senators have publicly acknowledged Mr Biden's victory: Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Former US president George W Bush, a Republican, has congratulated Mr Biden.

At the same time, Mr Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris have plunged into tackling the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, they announced a 13-member advisory council that will assist them and their transition team in mapping out policies to curtail the outbreak.

After meeting with the task force, Mr Biden took on his new role of messenger in chief, imploring Americans to wear masks and practice social distancing as he warned of a "dark winter" ahead with Covid-19 cases surging around the country.

Mr McConnell began staking out ground in opposition to Democrats' hopes that a stimulus bill could be passed before the new Congress and administration is in place that would provide economic support to states, cities and Americans affected by the virus.

He, citing positive results from Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine trial, renewed his stance that Congress should pass a limited stimulus bill before the end of the year. Democrats are still pushing for a much larger relief bill, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans "have proposed totally inadequate solutions".

Mr Biden may have to work with Mr McConnell once he is sworn in in January if Democrats do not win the two Senate races in Georgia that will be decided by a Jan 5 run-off. The two seats would essentially give Democrats the narrowest of majorities by dividing the Senate 50-50. As vice-president, Ms Harris would break any ties.

The incumbent Republicans in the race - David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler - made clear they were sticking with Mr Trump's insistence that he won, assailing the state's Republican elections official and demanding his resignation for failing "to deliver honest and transparent elections". They offered no evidence for their claims and he promptly refused.

Mr Biden spent most of Monday in private meetings with advisers as they begin to fill top staff positions. He could announce some roles, including the key role of chief of staff, as early as this week, said people familiar with the timeline. BLOOMBERG