Washington
US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he recommended the General Services Administration head Emily Murphy and her team to follow initial protocol with regard to his rival Joe Biden’s transition, adding that he would “keep up the fight” against the alleged voter fraud in the Presidential elections.
Trump said that the lawsuits filed across the country claiming voter fraud “strongly continues”, adding that “we will prevail”. “I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA,” Trump wrote in a tweet.
The incumbent US President recommended Murphy and her team to do “what needs to be done” regarding initial protocols in the best interest of the country.
“Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same,” the subsequent tweet read.
Murphy said she had not been pressured by the White House to delay the formal transition and did not make a decision “out of fear or favoritism.”
“Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts,” Murphy wrote. “I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official, including those who work at the White House or GSA, with regard to the substance or timing of my decision. To be clear, I did not receive any direction to delay my determination.”
Biden’s Transition Team, in a statement, said that the transition officials will begin meeting with the federal officials to discuss the US’s pandemic response and “gain complete understanding” of the Trump administration’s efforts.
“In the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response, have a full accounting of our national security interests, and gain a complete understanding of the Trump administration’s efforts to hollow out government agencies,” the team said in a statement.
Earlier on Monday, The Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified the state’s results in the US elections showing President-elect Joe Biden defeating President Donald Trump in the presidential race.Georgia also certified Biden’s win last week and Pennsylvania is expected to certify its results showing Biden as the victor.
