While it has yet to officially recognize him as the nation’s next president, the General Services Administration has been providing office space and other resources to President-Elect Joe Biden and his team since at least early September, shortly after he accepted the Democratic nomination.
That’s per a memorandum of understanding the two sides agreed to that was recently posted to the GSA’s website. The document surfaced amid controversy surrounding GSA Administrator Emily Murphy’s widely reported delay in officially acknowledging Biden as the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election. That “ascertainment” is critical to unlocking a greater pool of resources and funding the GSA is charged with providing the administration of incoming presidents under the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 and subsequent federal authorizations.
The federal government’s main civilian real estate arm maintains it cannot provide more resources until there is more certainty surrounding the final election count, noting there was a similar delay surrounding the transfer of power from the Clinton administration to that of President George W. Bush in 2000. It also cited a 2008 report for members of Congress outlining past transitions, including that of Clinton to Bush. Murphy does not pick the winner of the presidential election, the GSA said in a statement, she only ascertains that apparent successful candidate once a winner is clear based on the process laid out in the Constitution.
