Emily W. Murphy

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Murphy's letter to Joe Biden notifying him of her decision to permit his transition team access to U.S. federal resources for the transition of the presidency of Donald Trump to the presidency of Joe Biden. 2020 GSA Emily W Murphy letter to Biden.pdf
Murphy's letter to Joe Biden notifying him of her decision to permit his transition team access to U.S. federal resources for the transition of the presidency of Donald Trump to the presidency of Joe Biden.

The GSA administrator is the government official responsible for "ascertaining" the existence of an upcoming transition of the presidency, thus permitting the president-elect and their staff access to federal agencies and transition funds. After November 7, 2020, when Joe Biden became generally acknowledged as the winner of the 2020 election, Murphy did not immediately issue a letter doing so, thus blocking Biden's transition team from the federal support needed to facilitate an orderly transition of power. [31] [4]

Before the 2020 election, Murphy spoke with David Barram, who was President Bill Clinton's GSA administrator during the 2000 election, about the appropriate steps to take during a possible transition of power. [13] [14] On November 10, four former Secretaries of Homeland Security—Tom Ridge, Michael Chertoff, Janet Napolitano, and Jeh Johnson—called upon Murphy to initiate the transition. [32] [33] On November 19, the Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform formally requested that Murphy brief Congress "on [her] ongoing refusal to grant the Biden-Harris Transition Team access to critical services and facilities". [34] [35] The next day, House Democrats sent Murphy a letter reading that her inaction was "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." [36]

On November 23, after Michigan certified its results, Murphy issued the letter of ascertainment, granting the Biden transition team access to federal funds and resources for an orderly transition. [5] [37] Breaking with recent precedent, the letter did not call Biden "president-elect", instead fulfilling Murphy's requirements under the Act without implying that he won the election. [38] In the letter Murphy called the Act "vague", recommended Congress "consider amendments to the Act" to improve the standard it sets for post-election allocation of resources, and described threats she had allegedly received pressuring her to act. [39] The Washington Post called the letter "unusually personal". [39]

Because of the transition delay, the Electoral Count Act was modified to include a provision to remove the power of the GSA administrator to delay access and funds. [6]

References

  1. Buble, Courtney (January 15, 2021). "GSA Administrator Resigns". Government Executive. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  2. Nicholas, Scott (December 6, 2017). "Senate Clears Emily Murphy as Next GSA Administrator". ExecutiveGov. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Mazmanian, Adam (December 5, 2017). "Senate confirms new DHS, GSA chiefs". FCW. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Rein, Lisa; O'Connell, Jonathan; Dawsey, Josh (November 8, 2020). "A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn't budging". The Washington Post . ProQuest   2458469267. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Daly, Matthew; Jalonick, Mary Clare (November 23, 2020). "GSA ascertains Joe Biden is 'apparent winner' of election, clears way for the transition from Trump administration to formally begin". The Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Lesniewski, Niels (December 23, 2022). "Presidential transition process changes head to Biden's desk". Roll Call. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Raasch, Chuck (October 18, 2017). "St. Louis native faces tough task heading Trump's federal procurement, facilities office". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  8. "Emily Murphy Confirmed to Lead the U.S. General Services Administration". Mechanical Contractors Association of America. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  9. "Jim Murphy, Jr. Receives MCAA Honor". ConstructForSTL. March 24, 2015. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Raasch, Chuck (September 5, 2017). "Trump taps St. Louis native to head federal agency". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  11. Raasch, Chuck (December 6, 2017). "Senate okays St. Louis native Murphy to head government's General Services Administration". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  12. "Nomination of Emily W. Murphy to be Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration". Gsa.gov. October 18, 2017. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the General Services Administration .
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Holmes, Kristen; Herb, Jeremy (November 19, 2020). "'It's a terrible situation': Inside a government bureaucrat's pressure-filled decision to delay the transition". CNN . Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Who's Emily Murphy, the woman blamed for holding up the Biden transition?". Los Angeles Times. November 17, 2020. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  15. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov . September 2, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017 via National Archives.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the White House .
  16. Adams, Ramona (September 5, 2017). "Emily Webster Murphy to Receive GSA Administrator Nomination". ExecutiveGov. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  17. Bubl, Courtney (November 13, 2020). "Former GSA Administrator Reflects on Ascertaining the Election in 2016". Government Executive. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  18. Carl Ochoa, Inspector General (March 8, 2018). Report of Investigation: Re: P. Brennan Hart, III (PDF) (Report). Office of Inspector General, General Services Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  19. MacFarlane, Scott (August 21, 2019). "Ex-GSA Official Had Sex With White House Staffer on Govt. Agency Rooftop: Investigation". NBC4 TV. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  20. Dlouhy, Jennifer A. (November 9, 2020). "Trump Gets Help Again From Appointee Holding Up Transition". Bloomberg News . Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  21. 1 2 Ewing, Philip; Overby, Peter (October 18, 2018). "Trump Intervened In FBI HQ Project To Protect His Hotel, Democrats Allege". NPR . Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  22. O'Connell, Jonathan (February 12, 2018). "In abrupt shift, federal government proposes keeping FBI downtown". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  23. Herb, Jeremy; Holmes, Kristen (November 25, 2020). "Here's how Trump's transition blockade finally ended". CNN. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  24. "GSA Administrator Resigns". Government Executive. January 15, 2021.
  25. "President Biden Announces his Intent to Nominate Robin Carnahan as Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA)". The White House. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  26. "Biden taps 18F veteran Robin Carnahan to lead GSA". Washington Technology. April 6, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  27. "GovSearch News: Robin Carnahan has been confirmed and sworn in as GSA Administrator". carrollpublishing.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  28. "Emily W. Murphy". George Mason University . Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  29. "Emily Murphy joins GMU". Nextgov . November 23, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  30. Everson, Zach (December 20, 2021). "GSA Administrator Who Shielded Trump Secures New University Job To Share Her Insights On Government Contracting". Forbes . Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  31. Shear, Michael D.; Haberman, Maggie; Crowley, Michael (November 10, 2020). "Trump Appointee Stands Between Biden's Team and a Smooth Transition". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  32. Shaub, Walter M. (November 20, 2020). "The Presidential Transition Meets Murphy's Law". The New York Review of Books . Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  33. Gregorian, Dareh (November 13, 2020). "Ex-Bush, Obama Homeland Security chiefs call on Trump admin to begin transition". NBC News . Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  34. Cheney, Kyle (November 19, 2020). "Democrats demand briefing from GSA chief on delay in ascertaining Biden's win". Politico. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  35. "Letter from Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, Nita M. Lowey, Gerald E. Connolly, and Mike Quigley to Emily Murphy" (PDF). United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform. November 19, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  36. Segers, Grace (November 20, 2020). "House Democrats tell GSA chief her refusal to certify Biden's win is "having grave effects"". CBS News . Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  37. Baron, Rachel (2022). "Ascertaining the president-elect: Problems and suggested reforms" (PDF). Journal of Legislation and Public Policy . 24: 471–509.
  38. Jankowicz, Mia (November 24, 2020). "The letter enabling Biden's transition goes to extreme lengths to avoid saying he beat Trump and won the election". Business Insider . Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  39. 1 2 Rein, Lisa (November 23, 2020). "Under pressure, Trump appointee Emily Murphy approves transition in unusually personal letter to Biden". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
Emily W. Murphy
Emily W. Murphy official photo.jpg
Administrator of General Services
In office
December 12, 2017 January 15, 2021