Nat'l security adviser O'Brien vows 'professional transition' for Biden

Nov. 16 (UPI) -- White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien has acknowledged that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris appear to be the winners of the 2020 election.

O'Brien's remarks, given at the Global Security Forum last week, were streamed online Monday by the Soufan Center, which hosted the event.

"If the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner -- and, obviously, things look that way now -- we'll have a very professional transition with the national security council, no doubt about it," O'Brien said.

O'Brien's remarks break from virtually all other top administration officials, who have not yet spoken against President Donald Trump's unfounded and unsupported claims that widespread voter fraud propelled Biden and Harris to victory.

Trump has still refused to concede, even though Biden won 306 electoral votes -- well beyond the 270 needed to win the presidency, according to projections by NBC News, CBS News, ABC News and CNN.

Trump's campaign has unsuccessfully filed numerous lawsuits in multiple states seeking to overturn vote counts.

Biden's transition team has not yet received millions of dollars in federal funds that it's entitled to, as the Trump-appointed head of the General Services Administration has still not recognized Biden as the winner. Some experts have warned that delaying the transition could worsen the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in rising cases nationwide this month.

O'Brien said in his remarks, however, that he doesn't see a problem if the transition is delayed.

"I'm old enough to remember Bush vs. Gore [in 2000], and the transition there didn't start until mid-December, and yet it got done," he said. "It will be a professional transition."

O'Brien added that he expects Biden's national security advisers will be up to handling their task.

"[The Biden team is] going to have very professional folks who are coming in to take these positions, many of whom have been here before and spent a lot of time in the White House in prior administrations," he said. "And the great thing in the United States of America, we've passed the baton and had peaceful successful transitions even in the most contentious periods."

O'Brien tested positive for the coronavirus disease during the summer.