House Democrats are demanding General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy brief Congress “no later than November 23” to explain why she continues to block President-elect Joe Biden from receiving transition funds and support, despite a law that merely requires her to ascertain it is “likely” he won the election.
“We have been extremely patient, but we can wait no longer,” four House chairs write in a letter to Murphy, as Talking Points Memo reports. “As GSA Administrator, it is your responsibility to follow the law and assure the safety and well-being of the United States and its people—not to submit to political pressure to violate the law and risk the consequences.”
They make the situation quite clear:
“President-elect Biden has now collected more votes than any other candidate for President in history, and he defeated President Trump by a margin of nearly six million votes. By November 7, 2020, virtually every major news organization had declared President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris as the clear winners when they obtained a majority of Electoral College votes. In the weeks that followed, they won two additional states—Arizona and Georgia—bringing their Electoral College tally to 306 compared to President Trump’s 232. At this stage, there is no conceivable argument that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are not ‘the apparent successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President.'”
The House Chairs also warn Murphy she is endangering national security:
“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.”
Image: DHS photo by Tara Molle via Flickr