Emily W. Murphy

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Short description|American government official (born 1973)}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Emily W. Murphy official photo.jpg | office = [[General Services Administration|Administrator of General Services]] | president = [[Donald Trump]] | deputy = Allison Brigati | term_start = December 12, 2017 | term_end = January 15, 2021 | predecessor = [[Denise Turner Roth]] | successor = [[Robin Carnahan]] | birth_name = Emily Webster Murphy | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1973}} | birth_place = [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | education = [[Smith College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[University of Virginia]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]]) }} '''Emily Webster Murphy''' (born 1973) is an American attorney and former government official who served as the administrator of the [[General Services Administration]] (GSA) from 2017 to 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Buble |first1=Courtney |title=GSA Administrator Resigns |url=https://www.govexec.com/management/2021/01/gsa-administrator-resigns/171451/ |website=Government Executive |date=January 15, 2021 |access-date=20 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="Nicholas">{{cite news|last1=Nicholas|first1=Scott|title=Senate Clears Emily Murphy as Next GSA Administrator|url=http://www.executivegov.com/2017/12/senate-clears-emily-murphy-as-next-gsa-administrator/|access-date=December 6, 2017|publisher=ExecutiveGov|date=December 6, 2017|archive-date=December 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206143635/http://www.executivegov.com/2017/12/senate-clears-emily-murphy-as-next-gsa-administrator/|url-status=live}}</ref> Before serving in the GSA, Murphy was an attorney for the [[Republican National Committee]] and worked for several congressional committees and executive departments in the field of [[procurement|acquisition]] policy.

She was appointed as GSA administrator in 2017 by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Donald Trump]].<ref name="Mazmanian" /> She came under scrutiny after the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] for her delay in starting the [[United States presidential transition|presidential transition]] to the [[Presidential transition of Joe Biden|Biden's transition team]] after [[Joe Biden]] won the election on November 7. Murphy initially refused to sign a letter allowing Biden's transition team to access federal agencies and transition funds; this came as Trump [[Disputes surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election results|refused to acknowledge Biden's victory]].<ref name="Rein">{{cite news|last1=Rein|first1=Lisa|last2=O'Connell|first2=Jonathan|last3=Dawsey|first3=Josh|date=November 8, 2020|title=A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn't budging|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-gsa-letter-biden-transition/2020/11/08/07093acc-21e9-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109100819/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-gsa-letter-biden-transition/2020/11/08/07093acc-21e9-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html|archive-date=November 9, 2020|id={{ProQuest|2458469267}}}}</ref> She eventually signed the letter on November 23, allowing the presidential transition process to begin.<ref name="JALONICK">{{cite news |last1=Daly |first1=Matthew |last2=Jalonick |first2=Mary Clare |title=GSA ascertains Joe Biden is 'apparent winner' of election, clears way for the transition from Trump administration to formally begin |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-gsa-joe-biden-transition-20201123-fqs77zryxzac5lysm2wscrmpiy-story.html |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |date=23 November 2020 |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123232731/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-gsa-joe-biden-transition-20201123-fqs77zryxzac5lysm2wscrmpiy-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Because of the transition delay, the [[Electoral Count Act]] was modified to include a [[Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022|provision]] to remove the power of the GSA administrator to delay access and funds.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Lesniewski |first=Niels |date=2022-12-23 |title=Presidential transition process changes head to Biden's desk |url=https://rollcall.com/2022/12/23/presidential-transition-process-changes-head-to-bidens-desk/ |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Roll Call |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life and education== Murphy was born in 1973 and raised in [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]].<ref name="toughtask">{{cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/st-louis-native-faces-tough-task-heading-trump-s-federal/article_c13f274f-6c0d-5d2f-958c-3076b02f2593.html |title=St. Louis native faces tough task heading Trump's federal procurement, facilities office |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |author1=Raasch, Chuck |date=October 18, 2017 |access-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221040917/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/st-louis-native-faces-tough-task-heading-trump-s-federal/article_c13f274f-6c0d-5d2f-958c-3076b02f2593.html |url-status=live}}</ref> She has a brother and a sister.<ref name="toughtask" /> Her father James J. Murphy Jr. was chairman of Murphy Company Mechanical Contractors and Engineers, and her mother, Mimi Murphy (née Webster), was an attorney.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Emily Murphy Confirmed to Lead the U.S. General Services Administration|url=https://www.mcaa.org/news/emily-murphy-appointed-lead-u-s-general-services-administration/|access-date=2020-11-21|publisher=Mechanical Contractors Association of America|language=en-US|archive-date=November 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119203513/https://www.mcaa.org/news/emily-murphy-appointed-lead-u-s-general-services-administration/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.constructforstl.org/jim-murphy-jr-receives-mcaa-honor/ |title=Jim Murphy, Jr. Receives MCAA Honor |publisher=ConstructForSTL |date=March 24, 2015 |access-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207142111/http://www.constructforstl.org/jim-murphy-jr-receives-mcaa-honor/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Murphy attended [[Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School]], from which she graduated in 1991. She received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] from [[Smith College]] in 1995 and a [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[University of Virginia School of Law]] in 2001.<ref name="trumptaps">{{cite web |last=Raasch |first=Chuck |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/trump-taps-st-louis-native-to-head-federal-agency/article_03494e13-14f8-5ac8-87e4-865807a8fe15.html |title=Trump taps St. Louis native to head federal agency |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=September 5, 2017 |access-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209015601/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/trump-taps-st-louis-native-to-head-federal-agency/article_03494e13-14f8-5ac8-87e4-865807a8fe15.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/senate-okays-st-louis-native-murphy-to-head-government-s/article_a67c9434-c773-5c9d-bd01-479cee58cb74.html |title=Senate okays St. Louis native Murphy to head government's General Services Administration |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |author1=Raasch, Chuck |date=December 6, 2017 |access-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206165856/http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/senate-okays-st-louis-native-murphy-to-head-government-s/article_a67c9434-c773-5c9d-bd01-479cee58cb74.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="toughtask" />

==Early career== After graduating from Smith, Murphy moved to [[Washington, D.C.]], beginning her career at the [[Republican National Committee]] (RNC). She worked for the RNC as Assistant to the Director of Administration from October 1995 to January 1997. She then worked as a staff member for conservative Republican [[Jim Talent]], while he served as Chair of the [[House Committee on Small Business]] from January 1997 to July 1998, before leaving to attend law school.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/newsroom/congressional-testimony/nomination-of-emily-w-murphy-to-be-administrator-us-general-services-administration-10182017 |title=Nomination of Emily W. Murphy to be Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration |publisher=Gsa.gov |date=October 18, 2017 |access-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207140820/https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/newsroom/congressional-testimony/nomination-of-emily-w-murphy-to-be-administrator-us-general-services-administration |url-status=live}}{{General Services Administration link}}</ref>

Murphy previously served as counsel at the [[United States House Committee on Armed Services]], where she specialized in acquisition policy and reform. She has also held roles at the [[Small Business Administration]] and at GSA, where she served as the agency's Chief Acquisition Officer from 2005 to 2007.<ref name="Terrible situation">{{Cite news|last1=Holmes|first1=Kristen|last2=Herb|first2=Jeremy|date=2020-11-19|title='It's a terrible situation': Inside a government bureaucrat's pressure-filled decision to delay the transition|work=[[CNN]]|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/18/politics/biden-transition-trump-delay/index.html|access-date=2020-11-20|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120063806/https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/18/politics/biden-transition-trump-delay/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During this stint, she attended a 2007 briefing of GSA political appointees by [[Karl Rove]].<ref name="Blamed for holding">{{Cite web|date=2020-11-17|title=Who's Emily Murphy, the woman blamed for holding up the Biden transition?|url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-17/emily-murphy-gsa-blamed-delay-biden-transition|access-date=2020-11-26|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-date=November 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126055211/https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-17/emily-murphy-gsa-blamed-delay-biden-transition|url-status=live}}</ref> During the briefing, then GSA administrator [[Lurita Doan]] asked those in attendance how the GSA could be used "to help our candidates."<ref name="Blamed for holding" /> Murphy was among several attendees who reported the incident as a violation of the [[Hatch Act of 1939|Hatch Act]], and Doan was asked to resign by President [[George W. Bush]].<ref name="Blamed for holding" />

She served under three chairmen of the [[United States House Committee on Small Business]]. Her private sector experience includes five years in executive positions at a technology startup company engaged in federal contracting and three years as a government contracts attorney with two D.C. law firms.<ref>{{cite news|title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2017/09/02/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-personnel-key|access-date=October 13, 2017|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|date=September 2, 2017}} {{White House website}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Adams|first1=Ramona|title=Emily Webster Murphy to Receive GSA Administrator Nomination|url=http://www.executivegov.com/2017/09/emily-webster-murphy-to-receive-gsa-administrator-nomination/|access-date=October 19, 2017|publisher=ExecutiveGov|date=September 5, 2017|archive-date=October 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019201224/http://www.executivegov.com/2017/09/emily-webster-murphy-to-receive-gsa-administrator-nomination/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==General Services Administration leadership== [[File:Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Department of Homeland Security St. Elizabeths Campus.jpg|thumb|265x265px|Murphy at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] St. Elizabeths Campus.]] After President [[Donald Trump|Trump]] took office in January 2017, Murphy was appointed to the position of senior advisor to acting [[General Services Administration]] administrator Timothy Horne.<ref name="Mazmanian">{{cite web |last=Mazmanian |first=Adam |url=https://fcw.com/articles/2017/12/05/senate-confirms-nielsen.aspx |title=Senate confirms new DHS, GSA chiefs |publisher=FCW |date=December 5, 2017 |access-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207140352/https://fcw.com/articles/2017/12/05/senate-confirms-nielsen.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="trumptaps" /> On September 2, 2017, Trump nominated Murphy to the post of GSA administrator. The Senate confirmed Murphy's appointment by [[unanimous consent]] on December 5, 2017.<ref name="Mazmanian" /> Murphy succeeded Obama appointee [[Denise Turner Roth]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Bubl |first=Courtney|title=Former GSA Administrator Reflects on Ascertaining the Election in 2016|date=November 13, 2020|newspaper=Government Executive|access-date=April 14, 2022|url=https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/11/former-gsa-administrator-reflects-ascertaining-election-2016/170044/}}</ref>

In March 2018, an Inspector General's report found that Murphy had a policy of permitting alcohol consumption in her office by employees after working hours on Fridays.<ref>{{cite report |author=Carl Ochoa, Inspector General |date=March 8, 2018 |title=Report of Investigation: Re: P. Brennan Hart, III |url=https://www.gsaig.gov/sites/default/files/foia/Report%20of%20Investigation%20Re%20P.%20Brennan%20Hart%20III.pdf |publisher=Office of Inspector General, General Services Administration |access-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117051505/https://www.gsaig.gov/sites/default/files/foia/Report%20of%20Investigation%20Re%20P.%20Brennan%20Hart%20III.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="GSA_jinx2">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/Ex-GSA-Official-Had-Sex-With-White-House-Staffer-on-Govt-Agency-Rooftop-Investigation-557762411.html|title=Ex-GSA Official Had Sex With White House Staffer on Govt. Agency Rooftop: Investigation|work=NBC4 TV|location=Washington, D.C.|date=August 21, 2019|author1=MacFarlane, Scott|access-date=August 23, 2019|archive-date=August 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823151543/https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/Ex-GSA-Official-Had-Sex-With-White-House-Staffer-on-Govt-Agency-Rooftop-Investigation-557762411.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, Murphy became involved in a dispute surrounding a decision to cancel plans to move the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters to outside of Washington, D.C., and to sell the land on which the [[J. Edgar Hoover Building]] stands. The land would be for development. Instead, a more expensive rebuild at the existing location was proposed.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dlouhy|first=Jennifer A.|date=2020-11-09|title=Trump Gets Help Again From Appointee Holding Up Transition|language=en|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-09/trump-gets-help-again-from-appointee-holding-up-biden-transition|access-date=2020-11-23|archive-date=November 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123044645/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-09/trump-gets-help-again-from-appointee-holding-up-biden-transition|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Protect Hotel">{{Cite news|last1=Ewing|first1=Philip|last2=Overby|first2=Peter|date=2018-10-18|title=Trump Intervened In FBI HQ Project To Protect His Hotel, Democrats Allege|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/10/18/658509261/trump-intervened-in-fbi-hq-project-to-protect-his-hotel-democrats-allege|access-date=2020-11-23|work=[[NPR]]|language=en|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002202203/https://www.npr.org/2018/10/18/658509261/trump-intervened-in-fbi-hq-project-to-protect-his-hotel-democrats-allege|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Connell|first=Jonathan|title=In abrupt shift, federal government proposes keeping FBI downtown|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/02/12/in-abrupt-shift-federal-government-proposes-keeping-fbi-downtown/|access-date=2020-11-23|issn=0190-8286|date=2018-02-12|archive-date=October 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003224424/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/02/12/in-abrupt-shift-federal-government-proposes-keeping-fbi-downtown/|url-status=live}}</ref> House Democrats alleged that this decision was influenced by Trump's desire to prevent a rival hotel being built on [[Pennsylvania Avenue]].<ref name="Terrible situation" /> Murphy faced questions at a 2018 congressional hearing regarding the White House's involvement in this decision; she said that Trump was not involved in the decision and that the direction was received from the FBI.<ref name="Terrible situation" /><ref name="Protect Hotel" /> A GSA Inspector General report published in August 2018 revealed Murphy's testimony "left the misleading impression that she had no discussions with the President or senior White House officials in the decision-making process about the project"; Murphy had failed to disclose her meetings with the president on two occasions regarding the project, and one with his [[White House Chief of Staff|Chief of Staff]] [[John F. Kelly|John Kelly]].<ref name="Terrible situation" /><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Herb|first1=Jeremy|last2=Holmes|first2=Kristen|date=25 November 2020|title=Here's how Trump's transition blockade finally ended|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/24/politics/gsa-2020-election-decision/index.html|access-date=2020-11-26|website=CNN|archive-date=November 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126111454/https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/24/politics/gsa-2020-election-decision/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Murphy left the White House on January 15, 2021, before [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump's term]] expired.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govexec.com/management/2021/01/gsa-administrator-resigns/171451/|title=GSA Administrator Resigns|website=Government Executive|date=January 15, 2021 }}</ref> On April 6, 2021, President [[Joe Biden]] nominated [[Robin Carnahan]] to serve as the administrator of the [[General Services Administration]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-06|title=President Biden Announces his Intent to Nominate Robin Carnahan as Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA)|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/06/president-biden-announces-his-intent-to-nominate-robin-carnahan-as-administrator-of-the-general-services-administration-gsa/|access-date=2021-04-06|website=The White House|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Biden taps 18F veteran Robin Carnahan to lead GSA|url=https://washingtontechnology.com/2021/04/biden-taps-18f-veteran-robin-carnahan-to-lead-gsa/339175/|access-date=2021-12-21|website=Washington Technology|date=April 6, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> After confirmation by the [[United States Senate]], Carnahan was sworn into office on July 2, 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=GovSearch News: Robin Carnahan has been confirmed and sworn in as GSA Administrator |url=https://carrollpublishing.com/whoentry.aspx?entry_number=140775 |website=carrollpublishing.com |access-date=15 July 2021 |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404030830/https://carrollpublishing.com/whoentry.aspx?entry_number=140775 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2021, Murphy was hired by [[George Mason University]] as a Senior Fellow in the school of business's Center for Government Contracting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Emily W. Murphy |url=https://www.gmu.edu/profiles/emurph7 |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=[[George Mason University]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-23 |title=Emily Murphy joins GMU |url=https://www.nextgov.com/people/2021/11/emily-murphy-joins-gmu/259130/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=[[Nextgov]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Everson |first=Zach |date=20 December 2021 |title=GSA Administrator Who Shielded Trump Secures New University Job To Share Her Insights On Government Contracting |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2021/12/20/gsa-administrator-who-shielded-trump-secures-new-university-job-to-share-her-insights-on-government-contracting/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=[[Forbes]] |language=en}}</ref>

===2020 presidential transition=== {{seealso|Presidential transition of Joe Biden|Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election}} [[File:2020 GSA Emily W Murphy letter to Biden.pdf|thumb|Murphy's letter to Joe Biden notifying him of her decision to permit his transition team access to U.S. federal resources for the transition of the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|presidency of Donald Trump]] to the [[presidency of Joe Biden]].]] The GSA administrator is the government official responsible for "ascertaining" the existence of an upcoming [[United States presidential transition|transition of the presidency]], thus permitting the [[President-elect of the United States|president-elect]] and their staff access to federal agencies and transition funds. After November 7, 2020, when [[Joe Biden]] became generally acknowledged as the winner of the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 election]], Murphy did not immediately issue a letter doing so, thus blocking [[Presidential transition of Joe Biden|Biden's transition team]] from the federal support needed to facilitate an [[peaceful transition of power|orderly transition of power]].<ref name="StandsBetween">{{cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael D.|last2=Haberman|first2=Maggie|last3=Crowley|first3=Michael|date=November 10, 2020|title=Trump Appointee Stands Between Biden's Team and a Smooth Transition|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/emily-murphy-trump-biden.html|url-status=live|access-date=November 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110135518/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/emily-murphy-trump-biden.html|archive-date=November 10, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Rein" />

Before the 2020 election, Murphy spoke with David Barram, who was President Bill Clinton's GSA administrator during the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 election]], about the appropriate steps to take during a possible transition of power.<ref name="Terrible situation" /><ref name="Blamed for holding" /> On November 10, four former Secretaries of Homeland Security—[[Tom Ridge]], [[Michael Chertoff]], [[Janet Napolitano]], and [[Jeh Johnson]]—called upon Murphy to initiate the transition.<ref name="murphy's law">{{Cite web |date=November 20, 2020 |url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/11/13/the-presidential-transition-meets-murphys-law/|title=The Presidential Transition Meets Murphy's Law|last1=Shaub|first1=Walter M.|author-link=Walter Shaub|access-date=November 17, 2020|archive-date=November 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114222431/https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/11/13/the-presidential-transition-meets-murphys-law/|url-status=live|work=[[The New York Review of Books]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/blog/2020-11-11-biden-harris-transition-n1247340|title=Ex-Bush, Obama Homeland Security chiefs call on Trump admin to begin transition|last1=Gregorian|first1=Dareh|work=[[NBC News]]|access-date=November 17, 2020|archive-date=November 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116120118/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/blog/2020-11-11-biden-harris-transition-n1247340 |date=November 13, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> On November 19, the Chair of the House [[Committee on Oversight and Reform]] formally requested that Murphy brief Congress "on [her] ongoing refusal to grant the Biden-Harris Transition Team access to critical services and facilities".<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Cheney|first1=Kyle|date=2020-11-19|title=Democrats demand briefing from GSA chief on delay in ascertaining Biden's win|language=en|work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/19/gsa-briefing-biden-transition-438559|access-date=2020-11-20|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120025419/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/19/gsa-briefing-biden-transition-438559|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2020-11-19|title=Letter from Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, Nita M. Lowey, Gerald E. Connolly, and Mike Quigley to Emily Murphy|url=https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2020-11-19.CBM%20Lowey%20GEC%20Quigley%20re%20Biden-Harris%20Transition%20Team%20Access%20FINAL.pdf|access-date=2020-11-19|publisher=[[United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform]]|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120033913/https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2020-11-19.CBM%20Lowey%20GEC%20Quigley%20re%20Biden-Harris%20Transition%20Team%20Access%20FINAL.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The next day, House Democrats sent Murphy a letter reading that her inaction was "undermining the orderly transfer of power, impairing the incoming Administration's ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, hampering its ability to address our nation's dire economic crisis, and endangering our national security."<ref name="Grave effects">{{Cite news|last1=Segers|first1=Grace|date=2020-11-20|title=House Democrats tell GSA chief her refusal to certify Biden's win is "having grave effects"|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gsa-chief-emily-murphy-house-dems-demand-briefing/|access-date=November 20, 2020|work=[[CBS News]]|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120161500/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gsa-chief-emily-murphy-house-dems-demand-briefing/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On November 23, after Michigan certified its results, Murphy issued the letter of ascertainment, granting the Biden transition team access to federal funds and resources for an orderly transition.<ref name="JALONICK"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baron |first=Rachel |date=2022 |title=Ascertaining the president-elect: Problems and suggested reforms |url=https://nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/JLPP-24.2-Baron.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Legislation and Public Policy]] |volume=24 |pages=471–509}}</ref> Breaking with recent precedent, the letter did not call Biden "president-elect", instead fulfilling Murphy's requirements under the Act without implying that he won the election.<ref name="Extreme lengths">{{cite news|last1=Jankowicz|first1=Mia|date=November 24, 2020|title=The letter enabling Biden's transition goes to extreme lengths to avoid saying he beat Trump and won the election|work=[[Business Insider]]|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-transition-letter-wont-admit-beat-trump-in-the-election-2020-11|url-status=live|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125214039/https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-transition-letter-wont-admit-beat-trump-in-the-election-2020-11|archive-date=November 25, 2020}}</ref> In the letter Murphy called the Act "vague", recommended Congress "consider amendments to the Act" to improve the standard it sets for post-election allocation of resources, and described threats she had allegedly received pressuring her to act.<ref name="Unusually personal">{{cite news|last1=Rein|first1=Lisa|date=November 23, 2020|title=Under pressure, Trump appointee Emily Murphy approves transition in unusually personal letter to Biden|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gsa-emily-murphy-transition-biden/2020/11/23/c0f43e84-2de0-11eb-96c2-aac3f162215d_story.html|url-status=live|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125212742/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gsa-emily-murphy-transition-biden/2020/11/23/c0f43e84-2de0-11eb-96c2-aac3f162215d_story.html|archive-date=November 25, 2020}}</ref> ''The Washington Post'' called the letter "unusually personal".<ref name="Unusually personal" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons}} * {{C-SPAN}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Emily Webster}} [[Category:1973 births]] [[Category:21st-century American women lawyers]] [[Category:21st-century American lawyers]] [[Category:Administrators of the General Services Administration]] [[Category:Lawyers from St. Louis]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Missouri Republicans]] [[Category:Smith College alumni]] [[Category:First Trump administration personnel]] [[Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni]] [[Category:Women government officials]]