President Donald Trump said Monday he no longer opposes government aid for Joe Biden’s transition team in his closest statement yet to finally conceding he lost the US election.
Trump’s tweet that the General Services Administration should “do what needs to be done” came after the agency’s head, Emily Murphy, said she was releasing the long-delayed assistance.
The US General Services Administration (GSA), a federal agency that provides resources to presidents-elect for a smooth transition, has allowed the release of funds for the Biden-Harris transition. GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, in a letter to Joe Biden, defended her decision to hold the funds for the transition citing “legal challenges” mounted by US President Donald Trump.
The Trump-appointee also mentioned that her decision to hold funds was made ‘independently’ and not under any pressure from the White House officials.
This comes after days of mounting efforts by Trump and his loyalists to block Biden-Harris’s transition, be it through lawsuits challenging vote counts or by refraining from certifying ballots at local levels. Emily Murphy faced a lot of criticism for her decision to hold resources for the Biden-Harris transition, which she is now trying to amend by formally allowing the release of funds.
The Biden team will now have access to additional office space inside the agencies and the ability to use federal resources for background checks on Biden’s White House staff appointments and Cabinet picks.
