McEnany: Trump Should Not Concede Due to ‘Constitutional Process’ That’s Playing Out

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany takes questions from the media during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington Nov. 20, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Friday said that President Donald Trump should not concede because of outstanding legal challenges and the “constitutional process” that is currently playing out.

She added that the General Services Administration (GSA) will make its ascertainment for a transition at “the right moment.”

“There are questions that need to be answered,” McEnany said on Fox News, referring to outstanding legal challenges from President Donald Trump’s legal team. “The GSA will determine when ascertainment is reached.”

“There is a presidential transition act that determines exactly what an administration needs to do in advance of an election,” McEnany said. “We’ve done everything we statutorily needed to do.”

Trump has not conceded. The Epoch Times will not declare a winner of the race until all legal challenges fully play out.

McEnany said that Trump has not conceded because his campaign is “pursuing ongoing litigation,“ “taking it day by day,” and noted the “constitutional process” is not finished.

“The president has been clear—he wants every legal vote to be counted and no illegal votes counted,” McEnany said.

The press secretary furthermore said that during Trump’s 2016 transition process from former President Barack Obama, Trump’s “presidency was never accepted” and made reference to the yearslong Russia investigation. McEnany said the probe was “baseless” and an attempt to “silence the voice of the American people.”

“In 2016, many sought to undermine him, discredit him, and deny his victory,” McEnany added. “There were no calls for unity.” McEnany said that people shouldn’t “forget what President Trump has had to endure four years into his presidency.”

Earlier this month, the GSA told the Epoch Times that an ascertainment has not yet been made about a transition. The “GSA and its administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law,” a spokesperson said.

The agency’s “administrator’s ascertainment is done for the purposes of making services provided by the [Presidential Transition Act] available,” the spokesperson said. “Until an ascertainment is made, the statute allows for the Biden Transition Team to continue to receive the pre-elect services from the government (e.g., limited office space, computers, background investigations for security clearances). GSA has met all statutory requirements under the PTA for this election cycle and will continue to do so.”

The Trump campaign filed lawsuits in critical states including Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, while requesting recounts and audits. The campaign said there have been instances of voter fraud and asserted that GOP poll observers were blocked.