Biden-Harris transition team may pursue legal action
President-elect Biden may follow Trump's lead and get lawyers if the GSA doesn't ensure a seamless White House move.
Despite a stinging defeat in the Nov. 3 election, President Donald Trump has still not conceded, and many are speculating that he won’t soon agree to a peaceful transfer of power.
Now, President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly weighing his legal options.
CBS News says Biden’s transition team may follow Trump’s lead and pursue legal action if the General Services Administration doesn’t step in to make sure the newly-elected former vice president and former senator Kamala Harris have a seamless transition to the White House.
During a call with reporters Monday night, an unnamed Biden-Harris campaign official said, “There are a number of options on the table, legal action is certainly a possibility, but there are other options as well that we’re considering,” according to CBS News.
Read More: Trump faces calls to work with Biden team on transition
The General Services Administration is an independent, nonpartisan agency that helps with all governmental logistics, including transportation for federal employees, property management and more. They also play an integral role in helping presidential administrations change hands.
The current administrator of the GSA is Emily W. Murphy. Murphy was nominated by Trump in 2017 and has “refused to formally recognize Mr. Biden as the president-elect with a letter of ‘ascertainment,’” according to The New York Times.
Biden’s transition team has said this refusal has prevented them from preparing offices in which to have classified meetings. It is also slowing down the process for doing background checks on potential cabinet members.
Read More: Lindsey Graham: Trump shouldn’t concede or else US will ‘never’ elect GOP president
This means that Biden may not be able to leap into action as quickly as he would like to.
Murphy’s inaction also serves as the Trump administration’s refusal to admit defeat in the recent presidential race. When the agency was questioned about processes before, officials said Murphy “ascertains the apparent successful candidate once a winner is clear based on the process laid out in the Constitution.”
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