GSA Administrator Emily Murphy Facing Mounting Backlash Over Stalled Election Certification

With arguments about the 2020 presidential election results dragging on, more and more pressure is [...]

By Michael Hein

With arguments about the 2020 presidential election results dragging on, more and more pressure is falling directly on the head of the General Services Administration, Emily Murphy. Murphy is the administrator for the GSA, responsible for ascertaining the election results at a national level and releasing funds for the transition process. So far, she has not followed through.

Sources close to Murphy have reportedly said that she feels like she is in a "no-win situation," with pressure coming at her from both sides. This week, a report by Politico described Murphy's place in the presidential transition process as a "relatively routine step," requiring only that she acknowledge the results from state and local election officials. As Murphy continues to delay, four House Democrats have called her in for a briefing on Monday to explain herself. In a four-page letter to Murphy, House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney wrote: "We have been extremely patient, but we can wait no longer."

Maloney was joined by New York Rep. Nita Lowey, Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly and Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley in signing the letter. Murphy is stalling her "ascertainment," a step that does not even require the official election results to be certified — only the likely outcome based on clear results. A presidential candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the election, and Biden now has 306 while Trump has just 232, according to CBS News.

Sources close to Murphy told CNN she was feeling overwhelmed by pressure from both sides in the election, yet Trump praised her on Twitter recently, saying she was doing a "great job." This raised many eyebrows and caused Democrats to come out even more urgently calling for Murphy to stop stalling.

"White House officials claim they are not pressing you to block the ascertainment determination and that you have made this determination entirely on your own," read the Democrats' letter on Thursday. "If this is accurate, it is critical that you now follow the law and make the ascertainment designation without any further delay."

So far, the GSA has declined to comment on the Democrats' letters, and Murphy has said little publicly about the delay either. There is no evidence to support conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud in the election, in spite of the president's posts on social media. If the established transition protocols are not observed soon, Democrats said they fear it will have "grave effects" on the U.S.

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