General Services administrator officially allows Biden to begin transition process

The announcement came after weeks of pressure on Murphy to give Biden access despite President Trump refusing to concede the election.

In a letter to Biden announcing her determination, first reported by CNN, Murphy explained her delay in making transition services available was due to “recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results” and suggested that it was not pressure from Trump that caused the delay.

“I have dedicated much of my adult life to public service, and I have always strived to do what is right,” Murphy said in the letter. “Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official — including those who work at the White House or GSA — with regard to the substance or timing of me decision.”

Trump expressed approval of the decision but without a concession, indicating that he still believes he can win the election through various challenges to election results.

“I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused — and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA,” Trump said in a tweet. “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”

More than 30 lawsuits from Trump’s legal team alleging fraud and irregularities in election results have failed. On Sunday, the campaign’s legal team distanced itself from former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, who has alleged mass, malicious irregularities in voting machines without presenting hard evidence.

Earlier on Monday, the Michigan Board of Canvassers certified the state’s election results, another blow to Trump’s effort.

Biden on Monday announced several Cabinet appointments he plans to make, most of which deal with foreign affairs and national security, in an apparent push to pressure Murphy to allow full security briefings to incoming administration officials.

Biden tapped Tony Blinken to be secretary of state, Alejandro Mayorkas for the Department of Homeland Security, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the United Nations, John Kerry as the special presidential envoy for climate, and Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary.

“Today’s decision is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track,” Biden-Harris Transition Executive Director Yohannes Abraham said of the GSA determination in a statement. “This final decision is a definitive administrative action to formally begin the transition process with federal agencies. In the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response, have a full accounting of our national security interests, and gain complete understanding of the Trump administration’s efforts to hollow out government agencies.”

Murphy called for reform to the transition process in regard to how the GSA ascertains the apparent president-elect.

“The statute provides no procedures or standards for this process, so I looked to precedent from prior elections involving legal challenges and incomplete counts,” Murphy said in the letter to Biden. “I do not think that an agency charged with improving federal procurement and property management should place itself above the constitutionally-based election process. I strongly urge Congress to consider amendments to the Act.”