Nearly a week after the race was called by major news outlets, Donald Trump has still not conceded the presidential contest, instead claiming without evidence that the election was stolen.

Several North Carolina Republicans are defending this decision to not concede, insisting the race is not over yet.

“To my knowledge none of the states in question have certified their results and no state electors have met, so there’s really no president-elect,” said Rep. Ted Budd, R-13th District, during a congressional hearing on Thursday.

Budd, like several other Republicans on Capitol Hill, is not recognizing Joe Biden as the president-elect, despite the fact that Biden has only padded his Electoral College victory in the week since the race was called by major news outlets, including the Associated Press.

Budd is not alone. In recent days, several North Carolina Republicans have tweeted defending the Trump campaign’s various legal actions in key states.

Many of those lawsuits have gone nowhere, as the Trump campaign has failed to produce evidence to back up their claims of widespread voter irregularities.

Rep. David Price, D-4th District, criticized these Republicans as effectively playing with fire.

“There comes a point when people in public office need to provide a reality check, especially if there’s someone delusional, who is misleading the public,” he said. “This president is delusional on steroids.”

While the Biden camp continues to ramp up their transition efforts - including rolling out a coronavirus advisory panel earlier this week - the Trump administration has not formally acknowledged Biden as the winner. As a result, the Biden team has not gotten access to federal funding or key intelligence briefings.

While President-elect Joe Biden has so far sought to downplay concerns over the delayed start to the formal transition, some like Price are worried about the long-term implications.

“Every day, every week that passes makes it more difficult to hit the ground running on Inauguration Day,” he said.