More than 170 U.S. business leaders, including the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Pfizer, called on Congress to accept the results of the presidential election.
"Attempts to thwart or delay this process run counter to the essential tenets of our democracy," the leaders said Monday in a letter by the Partnership for New York.
The letter is the strongest support from the country's business community to try to ensure a smooth transition to the incoming Biden administration. The letter rejects President Donald Trump and his allies' effort to persuade Congress to overturn his re-election defeat when lawmakers are scheduled to certify the results Wednesday.
At least 12 Republican senators have said they'll join colleagues in the House in objecting to votes from several closely fought states where Mr.Trump has claimed, baselessly, that fraud cost him the election.
"Our duly elected leaders deserve the respect and bipartisan support of all Americans at a moment when we are dealing with the worst health and economic crises in modern history," the business leaders said in the letter. "There should be no further delay in the orderly transfer of power."
Among those who signed the letter were high-profile finance and Wall Street leaders, including Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, David Salomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, and Christiana Riley, head of Deutsche Bank's Americas unit.