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GSA Administrator Emily Murphy arrives to testify at the House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Financial Services and General Government on the “GSA (General Service Administration ) “on Wednesday March 13, 2019.
Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Appeal, Inc. | Getty Images
The federal agency that is withholding funding for President-elect Joe Biden’s transition by refusing to “verify” his victory over President Donald Trump said Monday it was prepared to accept briefing requests from House Democrats.
But the head of that agency, the head of the General Service Administration, Emily Murphy, will not lead this briefing, despite the request of the chairmen of the committees of the House that she explains herself “personally”.
On the contrary, a GSA spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC that Deputy Administrator Allison Brigati “will host a 30-minute briefing on Monday, November 30” – a week later than Democrats requested in a statement. frustrated joint letter sent to Murphy last Thursday.
The spokesperson also said the GSA will hold another “in-person-only” briefing for staff from the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and the Senate Committee on environment and public works.
In a response released Monday afternoon, Democrats appeared to reject the offer, instead demanding that Murphy notify them by Tuesday.
“We cannot wait another week for basic information on your refusal to make the verification decision,” they wrote in their last letter.
“Every extra day wasted is a day when the safety, health and well-being of the American people is threatened as the new Biden-Harris administration is prevented from fully preparing for the coronavirus pandemic, our country’s terrible economic crisis. , and our national security. “
Under the law, Murphy has the power to release millions of dollars that are allocated to presidential transition spending. These funds will only be available to the transition after Murphy determines the winner of the election.
The media called for the election of Biden, which is expected to win 306 Electoral College votes against Trump’s 232. But Trump refused to concede the race and instead wrongly claimed he won. Lawyers for his campaign, along with lawyers for other supporters, have launched a wave of lawsuits in a series of changing states, trying – so far unsuccessfully – to prevent these key votes from being counted.
“Your actions to block the transitional activities required by law are having serious effects,” Democrats wrote to Murphy in their initial letter last Thursday.
They accused the person Trump appointed of “undermining the orderly transfer of power, of undermining the ability of the new administration to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, of hampering its ability to cope with the terrible economic crisis in our country and endanger our national security “.
That letter, and the follow-up Monday, was signed by two House committee chairs – Carolyn Maloney and Nita Lowey from the oversight and reform appropriations – as well as subcommittee leaders Gerald Connolly and Mike Quigley.
They asked Murphy to respond to their last request before 5 p.m. Monday.
Earlier Monday afternoon, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal released his own scathing statement.
“With your refusal to abide by the procedures established by the Presidential Transition Law, you are complicit in an unprecedented challenge to our democratic standards and endanger the lives and livelihoods of people across the country,” wrote Neal to Murphy.
It’s developing news. Please come back for updates.
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