'White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office'

<p id="content">A former aide to US Vice President Mike Pence has claimed that White House staffers have discussed a possible scenario where President Donald Trump loses the November 3 election and refuses to leave office.</p>
The statement was made on Friday by Olivia Troye, the former lead staff member on the White House Coronavirus Task Force which is headed by the Vice President.

"During my tenure at the White House, I've had conversations behind closed doors with White House staffers and other government officials, including people in the intelligence community, where we've actually discussed what if, what if he loses and refuses to leave, or better yet, what if his plan is four more years of Donald Trump should he win, and would he leave after that?" the Hill news website quoted Troye as saying on CNN.

The former aide's remarks came after Trump earlier this week refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he does not win the election and also suggested that the result will be challenged in court.

The White House has played down his comments, saying the President will accept the outcome of a "free and fair" election.

But on Thursday, the Republican-majority Senate passed a resolution reaffirming its commitment to a peaceful transition of power.

Several Republican Senators have also pushed back the President's remarks that he's "going to have to see what happens", including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who said that "the winner of the November 3 election will be inaugurated on January 20th".

Last week, Troye, in a video ad for the "Republican Voters Against Trump" group, slammed te President's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, and said she will vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the November 3 election.

Troye added that although she has been a Republican her entire life, she will vote for Biden because she truly believes Americans are "at a time of constitutional crisis.".