WASHINGTON — The Trump administration yielded to the reality Monday that the presidential election will not be overturned, finally authorizing the start of formal transition proceedings as President-elect Joe Biden moved to make good his vow to appoint a historically diverse Cabinet.
Soon after Michigan certified its vote for Biden, a major blow to Trump’s efforts to contest the vote, the General Services Administration official who has blocked the start of the formal transition for three weeks formally recognized Biden as winner of the election and said she would provide office space, access to government officials and other logistical resources to assist his team.
In a two-page letter to Biden, GSA Administrator Emily Murphy wrote that she decided “independently” to withhold the official nod until now and was not pressured “directly or indirectly” by the White House as Trump unsuccessfully fought the election in court with false claims of fraud. She denied that she had withheld the aid “out of fear or favoritism.”
“To be clear, I did not receive any direction to delay my determination,” Murphy wrote. “I did, however, receive threats online, by phone, and by mail directed at my safety, my family, my staff, and even my pets in an effort to coerce me into making this determination prematurely. Even in the face of thousands of threats, I always remained committed to upholding the law.”
Soon after, Trump tweeted that he had recommended that Murphy “do what needs to be done … and have told my team to do the same.” Trump notably did not concede, however.
The start of the formal transition means Biden and his top aides will be given classified briefings on national security threats, among other assistance. They are also able to coordinate with federal health officials on the widening pandemic and a possible national vaccination campaign next year.
The latest twist in one of the nation’s strangest elections came hours after Biden announced that he will nominate the first Latino to run the Department of Homeland Security and the first woman to lead the nation’s vast intelligence apparatus.
Biden is also reportedly poised to nominate Janet Yellen, former chair of the Federal Reserve, as the first woman to ever run the U.S. Treasury. A respected figure with progressives and Wall Street alike, Yellen would help lead Biden’s response to the economy-wrecking pandemic if she is confirmed by the Senate.
The nominees signal a wide-ranging White House national security and foreign policy leadership team. Unlike many in Trump’s ever-shifting Cabinet, Biden chose known advisers with long records of public service and expertise.
Biden chiefly tapped trusted confidants and establishment figures for his inner circle, packing his Cabinet with former senior Obama administration officials with whom he had worked closely.
Absent from Biden’s initial round of Cabinet picks are any partisan warriors. The list is defined by deliberately nonpartisan and noncontroversial insiders who reinforce the president-elect’s inclination to project competence and unity over settling political scores.
The most controversial figure may be Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden’s pick for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As a deputy secretary of DHS under President Barack Obama, the Cuban-born Mayorkas was a primary architect of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and a primary negotiator of the thaw in then-frozen U.S.-Cuban relations.
DACA and the opening to Cuba became top political targets for Trump and other Republicans. But the Senate has confirmed Mayorkas, who attended the University of California, Berkeley and worked as a federal prosecutor in California, three times in the past for his roles in government.
As Biden filled out his administration, Trump’s efforts to overturn the election sputtered. A bipartisan Michigan board certified Biden’s victory in the state and counties in Pennsylvania ignored Trump’s demands that they delay certification of results.
Trump spent another day refusing to concede, but his authorization of the formal transition process, including classified briefings for Biden and his team, came after even some Republican lawmakers urged Trump to acknowledge reality. Unofficial election returns show Trump lost to Biden by 6 million votes and 306-232 in the Electoral College.
The Biden transition team declined to confirm media reports that he has chosen Yellen as secretary of the Treasury, saying economic nominees will be announced next week. Yellen would be the first-ever Treasury chief who is not a white man.
