GSA stalling House Democrats over Biden transition

Democratic leaders demanded federal agency brief them by 23 November

The federal agency responsible for Joe Biden’s presidential transition will not brief House Democrats this week about its “ongoing refusal” to affirm the president-elect’s incoming administration.

House Democrats demanded that General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy, responsible for millions of dollars in congressionally approved funding for the transition, brief several committee chairs by 23 November.

A GSA spokesperson told CNN that a deputy official from the agency will instead brief those officials on 30 November.

“We are assessing all options if they don’t brief us by the end of the day,” a House Democratic aide told The Independent on Monday.

Ms Murphy has refused to sign a letter of ascertainment confirming Mr Biden’s election; without her signature, the president-elect is effectively blocked from meeting with current administration officials or tapping into more than $6m allocated to the transition process.

In a letter to Ms Murphy on Monday afternoon, House Democratic committee chairs said they “cannot wait yet another week to obtain basic information about your refusal to make the ascertainment determination.”

They have asked the GSA chief to brief them on Tuesday.

The president has refused to concede, and his campaign has mounted a spurious legal bid to overturn the results of the election with a series of failed lawsuits and apparent attempts to directly interfere with voting certification in at least one state.

“Your actions in blocking transition activities required under the law are having grave effects, including undermining the orderly transfer of power, impairing the incoming administration’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, hampering its ability to address our nation’s dire economic crisis, and endangering our national security,” several committee chairs wrote in a letter to Ms Murphy on 19 November.

The letter was signed by House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney and Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey, as well as subcommittee chairs Gerry Connolly and Mike Quigley.

They asked that Ms Murphy brief them no later than 23 November.

“The results of your briefing will inform whether we bring you, your deputy, your chief of staff and your general counsel to testify at a public hearing,” the chairs wrote.

Meanwhile, a growing number of current and former Republican officials have urged the president to recognise his defeat and begin the transition process.

Republican Senator Rob Portman said that the GSA “should go ahead and release the funds and provide the infrastructure for an official transition, and the Biden team should receive the requested intelligence briefings and briefings on the coronavirus vaccine distribution plan.”

The Ohio Republican is also the incoming chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has oversight of the GSA.

“This is only prudent,” he wrote on Monday. “In the likely event that Joe Biden becomes our next president, it is in the national interest that the transition is seamless and that America is ready on Day One of a new administration for the challenges we face.”

Government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said that the GSA’s delay “isn’t just undemocratic – it could have deadly consequences." 

The incoming administration said that the roadblocks have prevented officials from meeting with federal health officials on medical data during the coronavirus pandemic, and Dr Anthony Fauci has warned that a delayed transition could slow distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Mr Biden has not “ruled out” legal challenges to the GSA to ensure his transition, he told reporters on Thursday.

He has criticised the president’s refusal to concede and said Americans were “witnessing incredible irresponsibility” with the ongoing blockade.

"It sends a horrible message about who we are as a country," Mr Biden said.