Joe Biden is considering SUING top Donald Trump official who is blocking him from starting transition process - amid mounting number of senior officials being fired
President-elect Joe Biden's transition team is threatening legal action over the Trump administration's refusal to formally begin the transition process – as President Trump carried out a post-election purge of agency heads and regulators in the bureaucracy.
Biden's team is setting its sights on a federal agency's delay in recognizing the Democrat's victory over President Donald Trump in last week's election.
The General Services Administration (GSA) normally recognizes a presidential candidate when it becomes clear who has won an election so that a transition of power can begin.
But the Trump-nominated official who runs the agencies has refused to assess the election being decided in Joe Biden's favor, despite TV networks calling the race for Biden on Saturday after he secured enough electoral votes to secure the presidency.
Ready for legal action: Joe Biden, who arrived at the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware Tuesday, for a speech later about Obamacare, is prepared to sue over the refusal to begin the transition
GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Republican Senate, has refused to assess that Joe Biden won the election, prompting the Biden campaign to suggest it might sue
The law does not clearly spell out when the GSA must act, but Biden transition officials say their victory is clear and a delay is not justified, even as Trump refuses to concede defeat.
Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that there was widespread voting fraud and has filed a raft 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 succeed.
GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, appointed by Trump in 2017, has not yet determined that 'a winner is clear,' a spokeswoman said. She has refused to sign a letter of 'ascertainment' that would trigger the process.
A source close to Murphy said she was a thorough professional who would take her time making a careful decision.
She has worked for big law firms, and worked as senior counsel for Republicans on congressional committees.
The normally mid-level position has held special importance for Trump. The GSA, known as the nation's landlord, has oversight over the federal government lease at Trump's Washington D.C. hotel, as well as the long-simmering dispute over whether to relocate the FBI or consolidate workspace. The FBI sits across the street from the hotel.
Trump nominated her in 2017 when both of those topics were under scrutiny.
A Biden transition official told reporters on a call that it was time for the GSA's administration to grant what is known as an ascertainment recognizing the president-elect, and said the transition team would consider legal action if it was not granted.
'Legal action is certainly a possibility, but there are other options as well that we're considering,' said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declining to outline other options.
The State Department, headed by Mike Pompeo, has not facilitated foreign leader calls with Biden
The delay is costing the Biden team access to millions of dollars in federal funding and the ability to meet with officials at 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.
In addition, the team has no access to the State Department, which usually 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 while Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore battled over an election that came down to just hundreds of votes in Florida.
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Biden ally, is warning the delay could make for a 'chaotic' transition – as he told CNN Republicans are privately passing on their congratulations to Biden without saying so in public.
'My job here I think is to continue to urge them privately to do the right thing and to help the president accept reality and to help their caucus stand up publicly because frankly the transition is going to be chaotic at best if it doesn't get moving very soon. It should be underway already,' said Coons.
The number of Trump firings has been mounting since Election Day. Trump forced out Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday.
Also on Monday, the White House removed Michael Kuperberg, who ran the U.S. Global Change Research Program and reassigned him.
On Friday, the ax fell for FERC chair Neil Chatterjee. He had come out for exploring carbon taxation. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates energy transmission.
Immediately after the election, the administration also pushed out Lisa Gordon-Hagerty as head of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Also pushed out was Bonnie Glick, deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
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