MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

George Bush will attend Joe Biden's inauguration; ex Pentagon chiefs warn about involving the military in the transition

“President and Mrs. Bush look forward to returning to the Capitol for the swearing in of President Biden and Vice President Harris,” spokesman Freddy Ford said

Former Republican U.S. President George W. Bush plans to attend Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, a Bush spokesman said on Tuesday.

“President and Mrs. Bush look forward to returning to the Capitol for the swearing in of President Biden and Vice President Harris,” spokesman Freddy Ford said, referring to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

The statement from the former president's office follows on a public statement from all ten living former US defense secretaries, including two Donald Trump appointees, who warned on Monday against involving the military in the presidential transition.

In an essay published in The Washington Post, Ashton Carter, Leon Panetta, William Perry, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Donald Rumsfeld, Jim Mattis and Mark Esper urged the Pentagon to commit to a peaceful transition of power.

“Efforts to involve the US armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” they said, adding that Pentagon officials who sought to do so could face serious professional and criminal consequences.

Referring to the election process and peaceful transfers of power as “hallmarks of our democracy”, the defense secretaries noted that other than president Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860 that ultimately led to the pro-slavery South seceding and the US Civil War, the country has had an unbroken record of peaceful transitions.

“This year should be no exception,” they wrote.

The defense secretaries, who come from both US political parties, with Mr Esper and General Mattis both appointed by Mr Trump, pointed out that all legal challenges to the presidential election results had been dismissed by the courts, and the votes certified by state governors.

It was time to formally certify the Electoral College votes, they said. They also called on acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and all Pentagon officials to facilitate the transition for president-elect Joe Biden’s administration “fully, co-operatively and transparently”.

“They must also refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team,” the essay said.

With information from Reuters