On Monday, it became clear that not only was Donald Trump refusing to provide the concession and cooperation that is the minimal step necessary for an operational democracy, he is also ordering other members of his staff to stand in the way of a peaceful transition. Emily Murphy, a previously unknown administrator at the General Services Administration, has the responsibility for opening up the accounts necessary to fund Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ teams in the transition. Only she has refused to sign the simple letter necessary to trigger the release of funds.
Even though Trump-appointed Murphy is still sitting on the funds, Biden has gone ahead with launching the transition process. That includes making regular appearances to discuss what his team is doing—a fantastic gesture toward transparency of purpose that very much did not happen with Trump. It also includes the public announcement of a COVID-19 response team that includes star players in science, medicine, health management, and logistics. But right now, everything that is happening is being funded out of Biden’s campaign. Murphy isn’t alone. The rest of the government has also been ordered to not cooperate with the people who will have charge of the nation in just three months. Which is why Biden is being forced to sue for what should have already been provided.
As The Washington Post reports, it’s not just Murphy who isn’t picking up the phone when the Biden-Harris transition team calls. Officials across multiple agencies have already prepared briefing books and set aside offices especially for an incoming administration. Those offices and documents should be available right now. But they’re not. Instead, the Trump White House has spread the word not to recognize the outcome of the election or to cooperate in sharing information. Everything remains locked up until Murphy puts her signature on the paperwork. And Murphy is not about to move until Trump tells her to.
On a press call Monday night, Biden’s transition staff discussed some of the information that isn’t available to them. That includes communications with foreign governments, details on national security operations, and even the no longer public data from hospitals on their status during the pandemic. All of it is critical to planning that Biden’s team needs to do well before the step into the White House. All of it is currently blocked by Trump’s refusal to move forward.
In addition to the sharing of information, the official start of the transition is necessary before the mechanisms are open that allow Biden’s team to run background checks and security clearances. Without that step, they won’t be able to arrive in Washington, D.C. with a staff that’s authorized to handle the day to day affairs of government—though the lack of clearances didn’t really delay Trump, and they simply ignored the rules. The lack of background checks also didn’t seem to be a concern since Trump’s team didn’t bother to appoint people who were qualified for their roles.
The possibility that Trump might not concede for weeks—or ever—means that Biden’s team is also looking at doing the last thing they want to do: start the transition with a lawsuit.
Trump’s response was not completely unexpected. After all … he is Trump. So Biden’s staff had already looked into the necessary steps even before the election. That’s why Biden was able to hit the ground running on a transition office and staff who are currently not dependent on Trump’s cooperation. But the current status can’t continue forever, or even for very long. An effective transition is going to require a full exchange of information and co-location of staff to get everyone up to speed before the really quite short window (71 days remaining) closes.
The economy is in recession. The nation is facing a devastating pandemic. Alliances and treaties with overseas partners are in tatters. For Biden to be effective in dealing with any of it, there has to be an effective transition.
So, as ABC News reports, a transition official made it clear Monday night that “legal action is certainly a possibility.” Exactly what that legal action might look like isn’t clear, simply because no one has had to take this step before. No matter how nasty elections might have been, White House residents have recognized that not just the good of the nation, but their legacy and the future of their party leaned heavily on how they responded in defeat. Trump simply does not care.
