Set-Aside Alert analysis:

GSA head declines to start federal transition

GSA Admin required to sign documents under law

      By law, Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration appointed by President Trump, has a key role in the presidential transition process.

      Once the presumptive winner of the presidency is determined, almost always within days of the election, the GSA leader is required to sign formal documents to begin the transition.

      In modern times, this “ascertainment” process almost always has been carried out shortly after votes were counted, but Murphy has held off.

      “An ascertainment has not yet been made, and its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law,” Pamela Pennington, a spokeswoman for GSA, told the Washington Post in an email on Nov. 8.

      To date, Murphy has refused to sign the document. The last time there was a delay in the GSA sign-off was in the Bush-Gore contest of 2000, in which there was less than a 600-vote difference in Florida in the race. Biden’s margin of victory is more than 258,000 votes in the five states Trump is contesting.

      The current hold-up means no transition funds, office space and access for the team of President-Elect Joe Biden at present.

      For federal contractors, the hold-up could increase uncertainty and delays in contracts, especially if there are delays in agency appointments as a result of a late start.

      President Trump and his allies are asserting that “the election is not over” due to widespread fraud, but they have not offered specific evidence on anywhere near the scale that would change the outcome of the election. So far, judges have said there is no evidence to back it up.

      Murphy, who was called out for her previous decision on retaining the FBI headquarters in DC reportedly at Trump’s urging, is now being criticized by Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-VA, a subcommittee chair on the House Oversight Committee.

      “She has a history of being subservient to President Trump,” Connolly told Bloomberg Government. He urged Murphy to “do the right thing” and initiate the Biden transition without delay..

      Murphy was not immediately available to comment.

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