DEMOCRATS SLAM GSA FOR BIDEN TRANSITION DELAY

Democratic leaders of key House and Senate panels on Monday accused General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy of undermining national security with her refusal to certify President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election.

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) all separately sent letters to Murphy underlining their concerns.

Murphy has come under fire from Democrats and some Republicans for so far not signing off on ascertaining Biden as president-elect, with Biden blocked from accessing federal resources and receiving intelligence briefings on threats to the nation until that step is taken.

Schiff heavily criticized Murphy for not moving forward with the process of certifying Biden as the winner, writing that “you bear enormous responsibility for the harmful effects that will flow from your inaction.”

“The threats our nation faces today are more urgent and complex than in 2000. Most alarming is the rising death total from the pandemic, but we must also confront the continuing dangers of domestic and international terrorism, a rising China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and more,” Schiff wrote in his letter to Murphy. “The risks of an abbreviated transition period with insufficient opportunity for the incoming Administration to fully prepare are manifest and potentially deadly.”