Press Releases

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who led the Obama Administration’s transition at the Commerce Department in 2008, issued the following statement today on reports that General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy has privately begun a job search even as she continues to withhold GSA ascertainment of President-elect Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election:

“News of her secret job search shows that Administrator Murphy’s refusal to initiate a presidential transition is an act of gross political hypocrisy, but unfortunately it also could prove fatal for some in this country.

“Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain previously said transition officials are being prevented from engaging in pandemic response planning, which Dr. Fauci today warned could delay the distribution of a vaccine. This the worst possible time to refuse to honor one of our country’s most sacred democratic norms. The United States had more new coronavirus cases last week than most countries have had in the entire pandemic.

“Even Donald Trump has tweeted that Joe Biden won this election. Administrator Murphy knows who won the election, and her job search confirms it. While she is prioritizing her own future and helping Donald Trump weaken our democracy, Americans are dying by the thousand in a pandemic that is raging out of control. Murphy must put the country first and allow the transition to move forward.”