PORTLAND, Ore. — In a typical election year, the transition process to a new presidential administration begins shortly after a winner is declared. But, as most of us know, this is not a typical election year.
By making baseless claims of widespread fraud and refusing to concede the presidency, President Donald Trump is limiting the Biden-Harris team’s ability to transition into office. This delay may have ripple-down effects in Oregon and throughout the county.
Typically, the General Services Administration (GSA) “ascertains” the “apparent successful candidates,” which is often decided by a media projection or a concession speech. This frees up millions of dollars in funding for the transition team and allows an incoming administration access to current government officials.
But, this year, current GSA Administrator Emily Murphy (a Trump appointee) has not sent the letter of ascertainment to the Biden-Harris team, citing the need for a “clear winner.”
Though according to Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, this has not kept the Biden-Harris team from mobilizing. They have already forged ahead by announcing agency review teams and continuing diplomatic relationships.
“I am impressed that team Biden is working really hard to do everything they can to prepare for the transition, despite the lack of cooperation with President Trump's team,” Merkley said.
“But it would be very helpful — and it is an American tradition and it's part of a peaceful transfer of power — for the outgoing president to work very closely with the incoming president.”
Merkley said that the delayed transition could jeopardize two categories: national security and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
President-elect Joe Biden currently does not have access to the president’s intelligence briefings, nor the teams in charge of the pandemic response.
And though two drug companies, Pfizer and Moderna, have announced successful tests on their vaccines, Merkley said that the delayed transition is dampening the distribution planning process.
Biden said in a meeting with frontline workers on Wednesday that, "unless (the information) is made available to us soon, we're going to be behind by weeks or months being able to put together the whole initiative relating to (the vaccines)."
In addition to hurting planning for vaccine distribution, the transition delay could hurt the new administration's planning for distributing personal protective equipment (PPE), and coordinating testing and contact tracing.
Merkley said this could result in “more infections in Oregon and more deaths.” Though, in relation to the delayed transition, he said that his Oregon constituents are expressing the most concerns about national security and the potential power vacuum in the White House.
Last week, according to New York Times reporting, Russia warships behaved aggressively towards U.S. fishing vessels off the coast of Alaska — the latest in a series of escalated encounters with the Russians in the North Pacific and Arctic.
Merkley worries that actors like Russia could take advantage of a power vacuum in the U.S. and said that this is why the coordination between the outgoing and incoming presidents needs to be “as seamless as possible.”
The most recent precedent of a delayed transition was in 2000, when George W. Bush’s victory over Al Gore came down to Florida, and the Supreme Court did not weigh in until Dec. 12 that year. Gore conceded on Dec. 13, and the GSA ascertained Bush as the winner on Dec. 14.
Though members of the Trump Administration have used the 2000 example as a justification for the presidential delay, the two elections are quite different. In 2000, 537 votes separated the two candidates in Florida, which would determine the outcome of the Electoral College.
But today, Biden is up by thousands of votes in multiple states, making it unlikely that Trump could win with a recount.
In 2000, even though ascertainment was delayed, President Bill Clinton gave Bush access to a top-level intelligence briefing in case he won. (Gore already had access as vice president.)
Still, the 9/11 Commission report found that, because of the delayed transition period, Bush’s national security team was not fully in place during the 2001 crisis, making them short-staffed during the crisis.
On Bush’s 100th day in office, the Senate had only confirmed two major national security positions, compared to seven by Obama’s 100th day, according to a recent Center for Presidential Transition report.
The report said that a continued transition-delay “could impede the ability of President-elect Joe Biden to make timely and critical appointments for key COVID-19 and national security-related positions, thereby weakening the government's ability to protect our nation and distribute life-saving vaccines.”
As Merkley puts it, “We really need to have the president acknowledge that the elections have been held, that they've been held with integrity, that he has participated and been honored to participate in the great American debate and the future of our country, and that he respects the will of the people and is now going to do all he can to have a successful transition.”
