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He continued, “Nonetheless, in the best interest of our country, I recommend that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regards to the initial protocols and have told my team to do the same.”
Some senior White House officials were unaware that Trump had paved the way for the presidential transition until they saw his tweet on Monday evening, drafted with input from the White House board office, according to an official familiar with the discussions.
Those same officials said the president’s statement was inevitable amid the recent wave of certification deadlines for battlefield states won by President-elect Joe Biden. Trump spent much of the weekend criticizing the poor performance of his legal team and seeking advice from top confidants and campaign assistants on what he should do next. A person familiar with these discussions said that “everyone except Rudy [Giuliani]Encouraged the president to give the green light to the transition process while continuing to seek legal options to challenge the election.
Despite the media and many foreign dignitaries recognizing Biden as the winner earlier this month, the GSA has remained silent on the next White House occupant, limiting Biden in his preparations.
“Today’s decision is a necessary step to start addressing the challenges our country faces, including bringing the pandemic under control and getting our economy back on track,” said Yohannes Abraham, Biden executive director of transition on Monday. .
Abraham added that the team would use the coming days to “discuss the response to the pandemic, get a full account of our national security interests, and gain a full understanding of the Trump administration’s efforts to hollow out the government agencies ”.
In one letter To Biden’s team, Murphy insisted his delay in recognizing his election victory was not due to personal or political pressure. Murphy said she received threats against her and her loved ones if she had not made the transition, but was suspended due to a precedent over incomplete counts and legal challenges to the results elections.
“I have devoted a great deal of my adult life to public service and have always strived to do the right thing,” Murphy wrote. “Please know that I made my decision independently, based on the law and the facts available.”
CNN first reported Murphy’s notice to Biden.
Murphy repeated his message to GSA employees in an email Monday night, using much of the same language in his notification to Biden.
“I want you to hear me directly: I have never been pressured on the substance or the timing of my decision,” she wrote in her email to staff members, obtained by POLITICO. “The decision was solely mine. I was not directly or indirectly pushed by any official in the executive branch – including those working in the White House or the GSA – to delay or expedite this determination.
Although she rejected the fact that she was ever under pressure from the administration, prominent Republicans began to push Trump to accept the election results and let the transition begin. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) called White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows last week and told him he had questions about the GSA delay, according to a person familiar with the call. Meadows answered Lee’s questions and assured him that the matter would be dealt with correctly and on time.
Yet Trump and many of his Republican allies continued to challenge the election as a prey to fraud, pushing lawsuits and inquiries that they believe could overthrow the Electoral College in his favor. But without evidence of widespread wrongdoing, a choking chain of court challenges and margins in the tens of thousands in major swing states, the chances of such a flip are almost nil.
Trump also declined to share the president’s daily briefing with Biden, despite calls from some Republicans in the Senate to do so. The Office of Management and Budget also pushes Trump’s budget forward to 2022, acting as if he would have a second term.
The roadblocks were additional aberrations to the collegiality usually shown during a presidential transition. But they were telegraphed by Trump, who openly refused to engage in a peaceful transfer of power in the run-up to the election. Other members of the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have also made waves in refusal to recognize Biden as the next president or cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.
The unprecedented delay in the transition has prompted calls for further safeguards to prevent a similar situation from happening again in the future. Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for the Public Service, lamented on Monday that the delay in the transition cost Biden’s team time to tackle some of the most pressing challenges the new administration will face. Biden’s transition team has previously expressed concerns that the late transition could have serious consequences for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Moving forward, we must pursue statutory remedies to ensure that a transition is never again confirmed for arbitrary or political purposes,” Stier said in a statement. “A clearer standard and a lower bar to trigger access to transitional resources are essential to protect the apolitical nature of presidential transitions.”
Regardless, Biden’s team wasted no time in waiting for official recognition to prepare for the White House. His transition team had met former officials and other external experts to better understand the agencies they would recruit, and he selected candidates for various appointments.
Biden appointed its chief of staff, Ron Klain, just days after the winner was announced. He also went ahead in appointing key cabinet positions, including his secretaries from State and Treasury, over the past few days.
Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
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