New York City business leaders: Trump should allow transition to Biden administration

More than 150 New York City business leaders are urging President Trump to acknowledge Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election and allow for a transition of power to begin for the sake of the U.S. democracy.

Trump's protracted battle against the presidential election results – and challenging of vote counts in several states – is damaging to the nation's economy and democracy amid the raging coronavirus pandemic, write 164 business and civic leaders Monday in an open letter.

A few hours after the letter landed, so did another one, this from Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, to Biden in which she said she would allow the president-elect to begin his official transition.

That action was needed because "our national interest and respect for the integrity of our democratic process requires that … a proper transition can begin," read the letter from the New York City signees, which included CEOs and presidents of companies such as AIG, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank, Mastercard, and Visa.

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Calls for the transition has been growing. Also on Monday, Steve Schwarzman, the CEO of private equity firm Blackstone, and a Trump supporter, told Axios that the election outcome "is very certain … and the country should move on. … Like many in the business community, I am ready to help President-elect Biden and his team as they confront the significant challenges of rebuilding our post-COVID economy."

More than 100 Republican former national security officials also made public a statement that President Trump's refusal to OK the transition imperils the nation.

Last week, the Republican-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce also urged similarly that the transition to the Biden administration begin.

"Every day that an orderly presidential transition process is delayed, our democracy grows weaker in the eyes of our own citizens and the nation’s stature on the global stage is diminished," the New York City business leaders' letter reads. "Withholding resources and vital information from an incoming administration puts the public and economic health and security of America at risk."

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump should acknowledge Biden victory, business leaders say