Emily Webster Murphy, the Administrator of the General Services Administration, on Monday, finally ascertained President-elect Joseph R. Biden is the apparent winner of the 2020 United States presidential election.
Murphy, an American attorney, sent a belated letter to Biden that will trigger series of events, including that funds are released for the transition to begin.
She had resisted for weeks to ascertain Biden’s win.
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The ascertainment means the end of the road for President Donald Trump, and the beginning of the official transition from Trump to Biden.
It also means that the Biden team can begin to cooperate with the Biden team on the coronavirus and how the vaccine would be distributed.
Biden can also begin to receive classified briefings.
Trump reacted with a tweet, saying some openness for the transition, although he added that his legal challenges will continue.
“I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am 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,” Trump tweeted.
The Biden-Harris Transition Executive Director Yohannes Abraham welcomed the development in a statement received by Today News Africa in Washington.
“The GSA Administrator has ascertained President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as the apparent winners of the election, providing the incoming Administration with the resources and support necessary to carry out a smooth and peaceful transfer of power. 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.
“This final decision is a definitive administrative action to formally begin the transition process with federal agencies. 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.”
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