Biden transition gets federal government go-ahead as Trump runs out of options

The US federal government has recognised president-elect Joe Biden as the ‘apparent winner’ of the November 3 election (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

The US federal government has recognised Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the November 3 presidential election, formally starting the transition of power after Donald Trump spent weeks testing the boundaries of American democracy.

He relented after suffering yet more legal and procedural defeats in his seemingly futile effort to overturn the election with baseless claims of fraud.