EMILY MURPHY
Administrator
2017-2021
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM: NEW EMAILS AND PHOTO SHOW PRESIDENT INTERVENED DIRECTLY IN DECISION NOT TO SELL FBI HQ PROPERTY TO POTENTIAL TRUMP HOTEL COMPETITORS
October 18, 2018
“Even more troubling is that you concealed this information from Congress,” the Ranking Members wrote to Murphy. “During sworn testimony, you were asked directly and repeatedly whether you had any communications with President Trump or other White House officials about this project. In response, you withheld information about this and other meetings—omissions the Inspector General warned may have left a ‘misleading’ impression that you ‘had no discussions with White House officials in the decision-making process about the project’.”
TRUMP GETS HELP AGAIN FROM APPOINTEE HOLDING UP TRANSITION
November 9, 2020
Murphy, who declined through a spokesperson to comment, was at the GSA when it decided to keep housing the Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington’s Old Post Office Pavilion and when it abruptly reversed plans to relocate the nearby FBI headquarters that could free up real estate for a competitor.
That record is raising scrutiny of Murphy’s role under federal law ascertaining the winner of the presidential contest. Democrats and the Biden transition team have called on Murphy to confirm the projections made by independent media organizations on Saturday based on state vote totals and projections.
THE PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION MEETS MURPHY’S LAW
November 13, 2020
Murphy is refusing to ascertain the apparent winner of the 2020 election as the president who appointed her disputes the clear outcome. She has not been especially transparent about her rationale. A spokesperson for her agency unhelpfully said, “an ascertainment has not yet been made” and “[the] Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law.” Murphy, it seems, is putting her loyalty to Trump over her duty to the American people.
Much is at stake. The Congressional Research Service has written that “[t]he smooth and orderly transfer of power generally is a notable feature of presidential transitions, and a testament to the legitimacy and durability of the electoral and democratic processes.” Murphy’s misconduct is dangerous.
EMILY MURPHY, THE OFFICIAL BLOCKING BIDEN'S TRANSITION, HAS A RECORD OF WORKING THE SYSTEM IN WAYS THAT BENEFIT TRUMP, ETHICS EXPERT SAYS
November 16, 2020
Walter Shaub Jr., who was the director of the US Office of Government Ethics between 2013 and 2017, accused GSA's head, Emily Murphy, of seemingly "putting her loyalty to Trump over her duty to the American people" in a scathing article for The New York Review of Books.
'DO THE RIGHT THING': WHAT A GSA PREDECESSOR TOLD TRUMP APPOINTEE ABOUT TRANSITIONS
November 19, 2020
"We're fortunate that Joe Biden is an experienced guy, but they still need every ounce of help that the outgoing administration can provide," he said. "And it's just unconscionable that they're not doing that."
'IT'S A TERRIBLE SITUATION': INSIDE A GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRAT'S PRESSURE-FILLED DECISION TO DELAY THE TRANSITION
November 19, 2020
Still, Murphy's stalled sign-off is one of the more confounding decisions made since the election, since it's clear Biden won and Trump's legal challenges won't change the outcome. Biden's team has warned the delay has real-world consequences to national security and their Covid-19 response.
THE HEAD OF THE G.S.A. SPURNS A REQUEST FROM CONGRESS TO BE BRIEFED ON THE TRANSITION.
November 23, 2020
Ms. Murphy has given no public explanation for her delay, but it has coincided with Mr. Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the election. Without the administrator’s approval, Mr. Biden’s team cannot move into government offices in Washington, meet formally with federal agencies or conduct business involving sensitive government secrets.
HERE'S HOW TRUMP'S TRANSITION BLOCKADE FINALLY ENDED
November 24, 2020
During the 16 days between the major news networks projecting the win for Biden and Murphy's letter to the former vice president on Monday evening, Trump did not directly tell Murphy to prevent the transition from starting. But he made his stance on her decision known through a steady stream of tweets contesting the election, at one point responding to an old tweet of Murphy's with "Great Job Emily."
In her letter explaining her decision on ascertainment, Murphy said she was not pressured by White House officials to grant it. But just minutes after she sent the letter to Biden, Trump seemed to undermine those claims by tweeting he was "recommending that Emily" begin the transition.
THESE EMAILS REVEAL THE DRAMA BEHIND THE GSA’S DECISION NOT TO CERTIFY BIDEN’S WIN
January 8, 2021
The GSA's refusal to ascertain Biden as the winner of the election was a bureaucratic transaction, which played out in memos and emails. But it was an extraordinary exception to the norm, one step in the unprecedented series of events that culminated in this week's insurrection at the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
The long delay thrust the agency’s leader, Emily W. Murphy, into the center of a growing controversy.
GSA ADMINISTRATOR EMILY MURPHY TO LEAVE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SOONER THAN EXPECTED
January 14, 2021
Emily Murphy is officially stepping down Thursday from her post as the Trump-appointed head of the General Services Administration, capping her role in the controversial and highly publicized transition process to culminate Jan. 20 with President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.