Delaying the transition to President-elect Joe Biden hurts the nation, and the Trump administration needs to begin the process now, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said.

“I want them to start and I want to also see the resources and tools that are customarily made available to the president-elect made available, and that dragging their feet is injurious to our nation,” Baldwin, D-Madison, said in an interview aired Sunday on “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com.

“Our national security really depends on an orderly and smooth transition,” she said.

Baldwin said the Nov. 3 election was secure and fair and “Joe Biden is indeed president-elect and will be sworn in on Jan. 20.”

Baldwin also said public health systems need a “sizable investment” during the pandemic and Congress needs to pass additional COVID-19 relief before the end of the year.

“I think it is urgent. I think it should have been done yesterday, and with these impending additional deadlines we’ve seen come and pass related to unemployment benefits and others, but with these new impending deadlines it’s very urgent that we act before the end of the year,” she said.

Also on the program, former Gov. Scott Walker — who has said that President Trump has a “high hurdle” to clear in a recount — defended the Trump campaign’s efforts.

“In close elections, those who supported the president over the last four years want to make sure that they are able to see that every vote that was legally cast is counted,” Walker said.

“UpFront” reporter Matt Smith asked Walker about the lasting impact of Trump on the Republican Party.

Walker said Trump made inroads with “working-class people of all different backgrounds.”

“It’s going to be incumbent on Republicans going forward to show that it wasn’t just Donald Trump, that they too care about the forgotten men and women of America,” Walker said.

Smith also asked Walker if he had plans to run for office again in the future.

Walker said he would be at the Young America’s Foundation for four years, but at some point in the future he might consider running again. He did not specify which office he might seek. Walker’s 2016 bid for president lasted just 71 days.

“I’m half-joking about this. I’m a quarter-century younger than Joe Biden, so I figure I’ve got plenty of time to make any further decisions,” Walker said.

In another segment, the lawmaker who will be leading Assembly Republicans’ investigation into the Nov. 3 election said his committee will begin hearings within days.

Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, said the committee will issue subpoenas if necessary.

“Right now, we’ve received over 3,500 complaints or concerns just in my office, and I’m one of 99 state representatives, and other representatives have received an awful lot, too,” Tusler said.

“We’re in the process of going through those concerns and trying to analyze which issues are the issues that are coming up the most often, which issues are the issues people are the most concerned about. And really trying to focus on that,” he said.

He said the investigation is being done in response to voters’ concerns.

“That’s where this investigation comes from. It comes from folks that are contacting our office and saying ‘Look, I’m concerned about this election, I’m concerned about the results, I’m concerned about something that happened in some other part of the state that maybe I don’t even live in, and I really want you to take a look at it and make sure this was fair,'” Tusler said.

President Trump has made unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the Nov. 3 election. Wisconsin’s chief election official, Meagan Wolfe of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said the election “was conducted according to law and in the open.”

See more from the program:
http://www.wisn.com/upfront

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