Nearly 200 business leaders from the world of finance, real estate and other major employers in New York City on Monday urged President Donald Trump to begin a transition effort that would allow President-elect Joe Biden's administration a smooth takeover in January. 

"America is being ravaged by a deadly pandemic with enormous social and economic consequences," the business leaders wrote in an open letter to Trump, signed by 164 CEOs and executives from a variety of real estate and financial companies. "The attention and energy of public and private sector leaders should be entirely focused on uniting our country to fight the coronavirus, provide aid to those in need, prevent further business disruption and loss of jobs, and invest in our economic recovery and revitalization."

The call comes as Trump has refused to concede the election to Biden and has launched a series of legal challenges in the hope of reversing the outcome of the election, which have largely failed.

The concern is the lack of an organized transition for the incoming administration could complicate the federal government's efforts to revamp the economy and contain the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic.

"Every day that an orderly presidential transition process is delayed, our democracy grows weaker in the eyes of our own citizens and the nation’s stature on the global stage is diminished," they wrote in the letter.

"Our national interest and respect for the integrity of our democratic process requires that the administrator of the federal General Services Administration immediately ascertain that Joseph R. Biden and Kamala D. Harris are the president-elect and vice president-elect so that a proper transition can begin. Withholding resources and vital information from an incoming administration puts the public and economic health and security of America at risk."