Trump clears way for Biden's transition, but still not conceding
Outgoing US President Donald Trump finally agreed to make his successor Joe Biden's transition into the White House smooth, as he asked the General Services Administration to "do what needs to be done." However, he still refused to concede defeat, saying the "good fight" will continue. "I believe we will prevail!" Trump wrote in the same tweet. Here are more details.
Context: Trump lost elections, claimed the polls were rigged
Trump has become the first President in years to not get a consecutive second term in the office. He got 232 electoral votes when the number needed to win polls is 270. Democrat Biden received 306 electoral votes, according to AP. For the last few weeks, Trump has made claims that the election was stolen from him, but his allegations lack evidence.
GSA employees don't deserve to be threatened, abused: Trump
In the tweet, Trump hinted that harassment of GSA employees prompted his decision. He mentioned Emily Murphy, the GSA administrator, saying that she has "harassed, threatened, and abused." "I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA," he wrote. He added it was in the country's best interest that the transition process begins.
Murphy asked to "do what needs to be done"
In letter to Biden's team, Murphy said she acted independently
On Monday (local time), Murphy sent a letter to President-elect Biden, informing that the Trump administration is willing to cooperate. She claimed she wasn't coerced into delaying the transition. "Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. To be clear, I did not receive any direction to delay my determination," she wrote, reports CNN.
Why was GSA approval so important for Biden's team?
With GSA being unwelcoming toward Biden, his team was restricted from contacting federal agencies and was denied access to crucial government data. Moreover, Biden was unable to spend $6.3 million, earmarked for the transition. Now that the clearance has been handed over, weeks after the polls, his team can deploy federal resources to run background checks on probable White House employees.
This is a much-needed step: Biden's team
Executive Director for Biden's transition, Yohannes Abraham, welcomed Trump's decision, saying, "This final decision is a definitive administrative action to formally begin the transition process with federal agencies." The transition's start, he said, was "a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track."
Now, transition officials will start meeting federal ones
"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 a complete understanding of the Trump administration's efforts to hollow out government agencies," Abraham explained.
