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GovExec Daily: The Effects of the Ascertainment Delay
George Washington University's Steven L. Schooner joins the podcast to discuss GSA chief Emily Murphy's decision to not officially start the transition.
In the 1960s, the United States Congress implemented a system to “to provide transition support to the winning candidates well before absolute certainty is reached by the Electoral College [in] December.” The Presidential Transition Act, by all accounts, exists to give the incoming administration ample time and resources to tend to the business of setting up their team.
GSA administrator Emily Murphy has not formally ascertained former Vice President Joe Biden’s electoral win over incumbent president Donald Trump, despite Biden’s apparent victory. Most experts agree that this delay is severely hurting the Biden team’s preparedness for when they take office in January.
Steven L. Schooner is the Nash & Cibinic Professor of Government Procurement Law at the George Washington University Law School and a GovExec contributor. His latest post is headlined “Stop the Obstruction and Authorize the Transition.” He joined GovExec Daily to discuss the ascertainment delay and the muddied transition.
