If there's one thing today’s Democrats can count on when they retake the White House from Republicans, it's that they will inherit a toxic waste zone of a mess. With the pandemic entering a terrifying stage of spread, President-elect Joe Biden will be no exception. But his task of reinvigorating the federal government to deal with the nation's biggest public health challenge in a century is meeting with an extra hurdle: A little-known Trump appointee is delaying an essential piece of the transition process that makes critical government resources available to the transition team.
Emily Murphy, the Trump-appointed administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), has thus far refused to sign a letter that immediately allows the transfer of power from one administration to the next to commence. The letter serves as the federal government's "formal declaration" that the presidential race is over and a winner has emerged, which triggers the release of millions of federal dollars to the transition team along with access to office space and necessary equipment like computers, according to The Washington Post.
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That declaration often comes within hours of the race being called by media outlets and almost always happens within the first 24 hours. On the one hand, the letter has usually been a technicality, but on the other, it's a critical piece of the process since the transition team has not a moment to lose in standing up an entirely new government within the course of a couple months. The stakes are magnified this year by the raging pandemic and an economy that could falter as a result. But in accordance with Trump's refusal to concede the election, the GSA has given no signal that it plans to sign the letter anytime soon.
“An ascertainment has not yet been made,” Pamela Pennington, a spokeswoman for GSA, told the Post, “and its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law.”
The last time a transition was delayed was in 2000 as a recount ensued to determine whether George W. Bush or Al Gore would be the next president. But Murphy's delay in acknowledging the reality of Biden's clear win is unprecedented in modern times. The Post writes:
Chris Lu, who served as former president Barack Obama’s transition director in 2008, recalled that after Obama was declared the winner over the late senator John McCain on Nov. 4, he went to sleep to get up early the next morning to open the transition office. He missed the call from GSA’s acting administrator, Jim Williams, informing him that he had signed over transition resources to the Obama team.
But the GSA is clearly deferring to Trump, who simply can't handle the fact that he lost the election and is still desperately searching for a way to disenfranchise more than 75 million voters.
In the meantime the Biden transition team is urging the GSA to come to terms with reality, even if Trump isn't capable of doing so.
“America’s national security and economic interests depend on the federal government signaling clearly and swiftly that the United States government will respect the will of the American people and engage in a smooth and peaceful transfer of power,” wrote a Biden transition spokesperson in an email.
GSA administrator Murphy may also soon have to answer to Congress, unless she decides to heed the advice of House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney.