After two weeks of standoff, U.S. President Donald Trump has now accepted to allow a transition of power to his successor, Joe Biden.
In a recent tweet, Trump said he had recommended that the General Services Administration (GSA) does what needs to be done in that regard.
The president’s tweet came amid reports by local media that the GSA has determined Biden to be the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election.
GSA Administrator, Emily Murphy, sent Biden a letter earlier in the week to inform him that his transition could now begin.
With this, the president-elect’s transition team can now access government resources, including funds, for a smooth transition of power.
The GSA is the federal agency responsible for enabling the transition of power from one administration to another, and it controls the funds for the process.
By law, the head of the agency must first “ascertain” the winner of a presidential election before setting the transition ball rolling.
But with Trump’s refusal to concede, the GSA administrator, who was appointed by the president in 2017, had held back from starting the process.
Murphy had incessantly come under fire from Democrats and other critics, who accused her of allowing political influence to interfere in the agency’s independence.
Defending her decision in the letter to Biden, the GSA head denied being influenced by the White House or official of the executive branch of government
In his tweet, Trump revealed that he advised the agency to start the process because he did not want Murphy, her family and employees of the GSA to continue to suffer harassment and abuse.
