Emily Murphy , the administrator of the General Services Administration, said in a letter on Monday that she would make "resources and services available" to helpPresident-elect Joe Biden begin his presidential transition.- "The actual winner of the presidential election will be determined by the electoral process detailed in the Constitution," Murphy wrote.
- The news came after congressional Democrats expressed outrage that Murphy was refusing to recognize Biden as the "apparent president-elect," which was delaying his transition.
The General Services Administration will provide President-elect Joe Biden with the "resources and services" he needs to begin his transition to the White House, Emily Murphy, the agency's administrator, said in a letter on Monday.
Murphy, who is required by US law to provide office space and equipment to the "apparent president-elect," stopped short of declaring Biden the victor.
"The actual winner of the presidential election will be determined by the electoral process detailed in the Constitution," she wrote.
—Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) November 23, 2020
In a statement, Yohannes Abraham, the executive director of the Biden-Harris transition team, welcomed the news.
"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," Abraham said. He called it a "final decision."
"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," Abraham said.
A few hours later, President-elect Biden tweeted out a link to his new website: buildbackbetter.gov.
President Donald Trump took credit for Murphy's decision, despite her letter saying that she "came to my decision independently."
While projecting confidence he would ultimately be declared the winner of an election that he lost, Trump said on Twitter he was "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."
But late Monday evening, The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reported that the president's chief of staff had gone a big step further in conceding, penning an email stressing the legal obligation "to ensure the smooth transfer of power."
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