GOP senator calls for cooperation on Biden transition: ‘I’d rather have a president that has more than one day to prepare’

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said on Sunday that it was “past time to start a transition” to a Biden administration, adding that he would “rather have a president that has more than one day to prepare.” 

The GOP senator told NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd that President Trump had the right to contest the election results through the legal system but also acknowledged an incoming Biden presidency.

“What they’re claiming is that there’s a lot of evidence and they’re presenting that evidence in cases. Now, it’s up to them to present that evidence, Chuck, obviously, and we’ve yet to see a real hearing where evidence was presented. And they’re not obligated to present it, you know, yesterday or tomorrow, although the sooner the better, from my perspective,” Cramer said.

WATCH: Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) says “there has to be an end” to Trump’s fight to reverse the vote.@SenKevinCramer: “It’s past time to start a transition, to at least cooperate with a transition. I’d rather have a president who has more than one day to prepare.” pic.twitter.com/joIsn7unz3

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 22, 2020

“But I’m just speaking strictly now from this ‘attack on democracy,’ as you call it. This is, these are legal systems. This is, these are processes that are in our Constitution, in our laws, and they’re not just appropriate, but they’re really an obligation, frankly, to the millions of Americans that President Trump is a reflection of,” he added.

Cramer also acknowledged that “there has to be an end,” saying, “I, frankly, do think it’s time to — well, it’s past time — to start a transition, to at least cooperate with the transition. I’d rather have a president that has more than one day to prepare should Joe Biden, you know, end up winning this.”

“It should happen tomorrow morning because it didn’t happen last Monday morning. I just think you have to begin that process. Give the incoming administration all the time they need,” said Cramer, though he also called Biden “a bit overdramatic” for voicing concerns that the impeded transition would negatively affect distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“The military is in charge of Operation Warp Speed. The military’s still going to be there after the election, but there are lots of other things,” he added. “And I informed my staff well over a week ago that they had to cooperate with any transition outreach because we want to be prepared. We have to, you know, we have a government to run, regardless of who the president is.”