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WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) – President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is considering legal action over a federal agency’s delay in recognizing the Democrat’s victory over President Donald Trump in last week’s election, it said Monday. a Biden official.
The General Services Administration (GSA) normally recognizes a presidential candidate when it is clear who won an election so that a transition of power can begin.
That has yet to happen despite the fact that US news and television networks declared Biden the winner on Saturday after he garnered enough electoral votes to secure the presidency.
The law does not clearly specify when the GSA must act, but Biden’s transition officials say his victory is clear and a delay is not justified, even as Trump refuses to admit defeat.
Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that there was widespread electoral fraud and has filed a series of lawsuits to challenge the results.
Election officials across the country say there has been no evidence of significant fraud, and legal experts say Trump’s efforts are unlikely to be successful.
GSA administrator Emily Murphy, appointed by Trump in 2017, has yet to determine that “a winner is clear,” a spokeswoman said. A source close to Murphy said she was a thorough professional who would take her time to make a careful decision.
A Biden transition official told reporters in a call that it was time for the GSA administration to grant what is known as a verification that recognizes the president-elect, and said the transition team would consider taking legal action if not. it was granted.
“Legal action is certainly a possibility, but there are also other options that we are considering,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declining to outline other options.
The delay is costing Biden’s team access to millions of dollars in federal funding and the ability to meet with officials from intelligence agencies and other departments.
The transition team needs to be recognized to access funds for salaries, consultants and travel, as well as access to classified information, the official said.
Additionally, the team does not have access to the State Department, which generally facilitates calls between foreign leaders and the president-elect, the official said.
A senior administration official said the agency did not approve the start of a formal transition process in 2000 for five weeks as Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore contested an election that was reduced to just hundreds of votes in Florida.
(Information from Simon Lewis and Tim Reid; additional information from Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal; edited by Kim Coghill and Peter Cooney)
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