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You probably never heard the name Emily Murphy. And in fact, this character doesn’t like popularity.
But this is the person Politico describes as “the most powerful woman in Washington,” at the moment. The reason is that it has a unique power in hand: to decide when to trigger the transition of power in the White House.
In a typical election year, this is not that important. However, due to the special circumstances this year, Ms. Murphy is at the center of the choice.
As the director of the General Service Agency (GSA) of the United States government, you will have to affirm that Mr. Joe Biden, whom a number of major news agencies have called president-elect, had a “clear victory.” It was only after Ms. Murphy’s statement that the transfer team was able to contact federal agencies, as well as access the millions of dollars that were dedicated to the transition of power.
Although the AP and most of the mainstream media have confirmed Biden’s victory, President Donald Trump has yet to give up and the vote-counting process is still ongoing. In a statement issued today, Trump stated firmly: “The simple truth is that this election is far from over. Legal votes will determine who is the president, not the media.”
This leaves Mrs. Murphy in a strange situation.
By law, the GSA always avoids taking partisan action. Even when the media claimed Mr. Biden’s victory, the GSA just announced “will not give confirmation.” GSA will continue to comply with the law.
With each passing day, the situation becomes increasingly uncomfortable. Also, the law on the current situation is very vague, leading to Ms. Murphy who will decide when Mr. Biden will officially become president-elect.
Ms. Murphy can choose the safe solution and wait until December 14, when the Electoral College votes for the President. But that could seriously affect Biden’s recovery efforts and the United States fell into chaos amid the accompanying medical and economic crisis.
Until then, Biden’s team can continue preparing for the transition, which includes using the FBI to verify the profiles of candidates expected to be appointed to the cabinet. They are still unable to work with the US Government Ethics Agency, even though it is only a secondary step.
However, the GSA’s confirmation is more important because it will give a “green light” for Mr. Biden’s team to access federal agencies to gather the information necessary to prepare for the new administration.
In the 2000 elections, Election Day was November 7, 2000, but it was not until December 12 that the United States Supreme Court made the decision. At the time, the GSA also faced pressure to activate the transfer of power to Republican candidate George W. Bush. However, the agency did not do so until the Supreme Court ruling.
