GSA recognizes Biden as election winner, letting transition process begin

the The General Service Administration on Monday recognized Joe Biden as the apparent winner in the presidential election, after weeks of inaction, and President Donald Trump called on his agencies to cooperate.

“I recommend that Emily and her team do what needs to be done regarding the initial protocols and have told my team to do the same,” Trump said of Emily Murphy, the chief administration. general services. Still, he said he would continue to challenge the outcome of the election.

The designation triggers a formal transition process, giving Biden and his team access to current agency officials, briefing books and other government resources, including about $ 6 million in funding.

The letter was sent after nine Republican senators called early in the transition process and hours after the Michigan State Solicitors Council voted to certify the election results, virtually guaranteeing Biden’s victory in the ‘Key state of the battlefield.

“Due to recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results, I have decided that you can access the post-election resources and services described in section 3 of the law upon request,” Murphy said in a statement. letter to Biden, citing the president’s 1963 Transition Act.

The announcement is a “necessary step” to “bring the pandemic under control and get our economy back on track,” said Yohannes Abraham, executive director of the Biden-Harris transition, in an emailed statement. “In the coming days, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response, get a full account of our national security interests, and gain a full understanding of the efforts of the Trump administration to hollow out government agencies.

For weeks, Biden’s transition team worked informally to set up a new administration, including assembling a coronavirus task force and consulting with public health officials outside the federal government, mimicking the approach taken by former Vice President Dick Cheney in the contested 2000 election.

Previously: GSA chief rejects Democrats’ request for transition briefing

Blocked from interacting with federal agencies, Biden staff instead sought out other experts from academia, state governments and Capitol Hill.

The biggest change now is that the transition team will be able to flood federal agencies with officials focused on preparing the way for its administration. They will have access to agency staff and briefing books gathered earlier this year, as well as details of administrative issues that need to be addressed immediately.

Transition assistants will also get details on the most critical positions as the new administration seeks to fill more than 7,000 jobs in the federal government.

Fortunately, career federal officials have done a remarkable job preparing for this year’s transition by producing factual information on critical agency issues and appointing interim officials who will lead the agency’s operations through to that the new political appointments be confirmed, ”said David Marchick, director of the Center for the Presidential Transition. “They now need space to do their jobs.”

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris could also quickly begin receiving briefings on classified intelligence. Lawmakers and national security experts had warned that without this information, the incoming administration was kept in the dark about threats against the United States – a mistake that could make the country more vulnerable.

Read more: Michigan certifies Biden victory after Trump offer to kick off result

Biden’s team can now focus on tasks essential to running the federal government and strengthening the economy, from developing a budget plan to coordinating unemployment benefit direction with the government. Ministry of Labour.

Executive departments working on the pandemic response may also briefing the Biden team on the distribution systems for protective equipment and coronavirus vaccines.

Trump praised the GSA administrator on Twitter. “I want to thank Emily Murphy of GSA for her unwavering dedication and loyalty to our country. She’s been harassed, threatened and abused – and I don’t want that to happen to her, her family or the GSA employees. Our case continues STRONG, ”he wrote.

Murphy, in the letter, which was reported earlier by CNN, told Biden that she had received “ threats online, by phone and in the mail addressed to my security, family, staff and even to my pets in order to coerce me. to make this decision prematurely.

She added that she was not “directly or indirectly under pressure from a representative of the executive branch” on the decision or timing of a decision on the presidential transition.

Murphy’s decision came after a string of defeats for Trump’s campaign, including the certification of results in Michigan. There was also stepping up bipartisan pressure to start a transition process, Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, declaring on Monday that it is time to move forward and Republican Senator from West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito calling the ‘Biden team to obtain “all appropriate” information related to national security and the pandemic.

– With help from Jennifer Epstein, Todd Shields and Jordan Fabian

(Updates with details on the transition process, starting with paragraph 9)