Biden asks GSA to acknowledge him as President-elect [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• In his talk with health care workers on Wednesday, Joe Biden said that the General Services Administration (GSA) should acknowledge him as the president-elect to give support for a smooth transition of power.
• GSA Administrator Emily Murphy has yet to ascertain Biden as the presidential winner despite leading by a significant margin against President Donald Trump.
• Trump has repeatedly claimed widespread voter fraud and refused to concede.

On Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said that the General Services Administration (GSA) should recognize him as the president-elect to encourage a peaceful transition of power amid the continuous refusal of President Donald Trump to concede.

During his address to health care workers, Biden pointed out that the GSA needs to declare him as the “apparent” president-elect since the agency is authorized to ascertain the presidential election winner.

The former vice president argued that there was no point for the GSA to await official declaration from the states and Congress.

“One of the problems we’re having now is the failure of the administration to recognize,” he said. 

“The law says that the General Services Administration has a person who recognizes who the winner is, and then they have access to all the data and information the government possesses to be prepared. It doesn’t require there to be an absolute winner. It says the apparent winner.”

Emily Murphy, the office’s administrator and a Trump appointee, has yet to confirm Biden as the president-elect despite having a comfortable lead with thousands of votes in key battleground states. The Democratic presidential nominee is poised to secure the Election College with more than 300 electoral votes.

Biden has also warned that the current administration’s resistance to a smooth transition would delay the country’s effort in mitigating the coronavirus. Being blocked until now from working with Trump’s team on the vaccine distribution and other public health measures, Biden noted that “more people may die.”

Trump’s continuous refusal for a smooth transition process endangers the country’s security, the Democrat campaign team warned. Since the GSA is still not acknowledging Biden’s victory, he could not get access to government officials and other federal matters such as national security briefings.

Since the election week, Trump has been claiming widespread voter fraud without factual evidence. The president’s reelection campaign has requested for a recount in some Wisconsin counties where Biden leads by around 20,000 votes. Trump would also seek to pay for a recount in Georgia, where he trails behind by over 13,000 votes.

Source: The Hill