Biden formally designated apparent winner

Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, on Monday formally designated Joe Biden as the apparent winner of the presidential election, providing federal funds and resources to begin a transition and authorizing his advisers to begin co-ordinating with Trump administration officials.

The decision came after several more senior Republican lawmakers denounced Murphy’s delay in allowing the peaceful transfer of power to begin, a delay that Biden and his top aides said was threatening national security and the ability of the incoming administration to effectively plan for combating the ongoing pandemic.

In her letter, Murphy said she was “never directly or indirectly pressured by any executive branch official — including those who work at the White House or the GSA.” She defended her delay by saying that she did not want to get ahead of the constitutional process of counting votes and picking a president.

“I do not think that an agency charged with improving federal procurement and property management should place itself above the constitutionallybased election process,” she wrote in a letter to Biden’s transition.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he accepted Murphy’s decision even as he vowed to continue legal fights challenging the result. “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!” Trump wrote. “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.”

Murphy refuted Trump’s assertion that he directed her to make the decision, saying in her letter that “I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts.”