Trump administration denies Biden access to bridging funds, echoing Bush-Gore stalemate in 2000

According to federal law, the head of the General Service Administration must “verify” that a candidate is the “apparent president-elect” before the federal government releases funds, office space and access to federal officials. .

“No verification has yet been done,” Pamela Pennington, spokesperson for GSA, told MarketWatch in an email. “GSA and its administrator will continue to meet and meet all requirements of the law.”

For now, the move denies Biden’s transition team federal office space and nearly $ 10 million in funding for staffing and other needs.

Pennington of the GSA, however, noted that the administration “adheres to the precedent set by the Clinton administration in 2000”.

In the late fall of that year, President-elect Bush was also denied transition funding and office space – despite being ahead in enough states to secure 270 electoral votes – as Gore’s Florida campaign recount effort continued.

David J. Barram, administrator of the GSA during Democratic President Clinton’s second term, told Congress in December this year that “in this unprecedented, incredibly close and intensely contested election, with lawsuits on both sides, he is not clear to me who is the winner.

Barram’s decision was criticized at the time by Republicans in Congress, as Democrats and Republican supporters of Joe Biden do today. The new Bush administration did not receive transition funds until December 14, 2000, the day after former Vice President Al Gore conceded, according to Henry Hogue of the Congressional Research Service.

To justify his decision, Barram cited Florida Democratic Representative Dante Fascell, sponsor of the original 1963 legislation, that “in a tight fight, the administrator just wouldn’t make the decision.”

Biden’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a Sunday letter released by the Presidential Transition Center, a bipartisan group of former cabinet officials in the Bush, Obama and Clinton administrations called on the GSA to start the process.

“We urge the Trump administration to immediately begin the post-election transition process and the Biden team to make full use of available resources,” the letter read.

“To build an effective government ready to meet the urgent needs of our great country, the new president will have to recruit 4,000 politicians, including 1,250 who require confirmation from the Senate; prepare a budget of $ 4.7 trillion; implement a strong political program; and lead a workforce of 2 million civilian employees and 2 million active and reserve service personnel, ”he added.

The lack of a decision from the GSA hasn’t completely embarrassed the Biden team. The secret service began to strengthen the protection of the former vice president, his family and his team from Friday. “The extra safety for Biden … doesn’t give him a full protective detail that goes with an elected president, but it is moving closer in that direction,” according to the Washington Post, while CNN reported that the Federal Aviation Administration has imposed flight restrictions. on Biden’s home in Delaware.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration announced a new coronavirus task force on Monday morning, led by co-chairs Dr. David Kessler, professor of pediatrics and epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California at San Francisco. ; Dr Vivek Murthy, who was the nation’s 19th General Surgeon from 2014 to 2017; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate professor of internal medicine, public health, and management at Yale University and associate dean for health equity research at the Yale School of Medicine.