The federal energy that is withholding funding from President-elect Joe Biden’s transition by refusing to “ascertain” his victory over President Donald Trump judged Monday that it is willing to grant House Democrats’ requests for a briefing.
But the head of that agency, General Cares Administration chief Emily Murphy, will not be leading that briefing, despite the demand from House Board chairs that she “personally” explain herself.
Rather, a GSA spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC that Deputy Administrator Allison Brigati will “army a 30 minute briefing on Monday, November 30” — a week later than Democrats had asked for in a frustrated mutual letter sent to Murphy last Thursday.
The spokesperson also said that GSA will host another, “in-person-only” briefing for pikestaff on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Environment and Public Ascends Committee.
In a response released Monday afternoon, the Democrats appeared to reject the offer, demanding instead that Murphy fleeting them by Tuesday.
“We cannot wait yet another week to obtain basic information about your refusal to along the ascertainment determination,” they wrote in their latest letter.
“Every additional day that is wasted is a day that the refuge, health, and well-being of the American people is imperiled as the incoming Biden-Harris Administration is blocked from fully preparing for the coronavirus pandemic, our political entity’s dire economic crisis, and our national security.”
Under the law, Murphy has the power to free up millions of dollars that are allocated toward presidential alteration spending. The transition can avail itself of those funds only after Murphy ascertains the winner of the election.
Communiqu outlets have called the election for Biden, who is projected to win 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232. But Trump has turn down to concede the race, and instead has falsely asserted that he won. His campaign’s lawyers, as well as lawyers for other supporters, eat launched a flurry of lawsuits in a series of swing states, attempting — so far fruitlessly — to stop those key votes from being reckoned.
“Your actions in blocking transition activities required under the law are having grave effects,” the Democrats wrote to Murphy in their first letter last Thursday.
They accused the Trump appointee of “undermining the orderly transfer of power, impairing the new Administration’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, hampering its ability to address our nation’s dire economic crisis, and tempt fating our national security.”
That letter, and the follow-up Monday, were signed by two House committee chairs — Oversight and Emend’s Carolyn Maloney and Nita Lowey of Appropriations — as well as subcommittee leaders Gerald Connolly and Mike Quigley.
They maintain asked Murphy to reply to their latest request by 5 p.m. on Monday.
Earlier Monday afternoon, House Ways and Intends Chairman Richard Neal issued a scathing statement of his own.
“With your refusal to abide by the procedures established by the Presidential Alteration Act, you are complicit in an unprecedented challenge to our Democratic norms and are endangering the lives and livelihoods of people across the nation,” Neal composed to Murphy.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.