WILMINGTON, Del. – President Joe Biden’s reform team is considering taking legal action over a federal agency’s delay in seeing Democrat victory over President Donald Trump in last week’s election, a Biden official said on Monday.
The General Services Administration (GSA) usually welcomes candidates for the presidency when it becomes clear who has won the election to begin a change of power.
That has not yet happened despite US television and news reports announcing Biden’s victory on Saturday after receiving enough electoral votes to defend the presidency.
The law does not explicitly state when the GSA should operate, but Biden reform officials say their victory is clear and the delay is unfair, as Trump refuses to accept defeat.
Trump has repeatedly said, without proof, that there is widespread voting fraud and that he has filed a number of lawsuits against the results.
Election officials across the country say there is no evidence of mass fraud, and legal experts say Trump’s efforts are unlikely to succeed.
GSA chief executive Emily Murphy, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, has not yet ruled that “the winner is clear,” a spokeswoman for the organization said. A source close to Murphy said he was a highly skilled professional who would take his time to make a careful decision.
A reform official in Biden told reporters by telephone that it was time for GSA management to issue a so-called ascertainment to the elected president, and said the reform team would consider legal action if it was not granted.
“Taking legal action is quite possible, but there are other options we can consider,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declining to comment on other options.
The transformation team needs to be monitored for funding, mentors and tourism, as well as access to shared information, the official said.
In addition, the delegation does not have access to the State Department, which usually distributes calls between foreign leaders and the president-elect, the official said.
A senior official said the party did not approve of the start of the official reform process in 2000 for five weeks and Republicans George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore were rigged in Florida’s by-elections.