President-elect Joe Biden's victory over President Trump can't be ascertained until General Services Administrator Emily Murphy signs off on it, but she is continuing to hold out while Trump refuses to concede. Murphy has been subject to criticism for delaying the inevitable, but sources close to her told CNN that the "consummate professional" believes she's doing "her honest duty as someone who has sworn true allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and the laws that govern her position."
The sources also said Murphy is struggling with what she considers a no-win situation. She reportedly feels pressure from both sides of the political spectrum as she tries to interpret unclear law and precedent. "She absolutely feels like she's in a hard place," a friend and former colleague told CNN. "She's afraid on multiple levels. It's a terrible situation."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
AI agents: When bots browse the webfeature Letting robots do the shopping
-
Will Chuck Schumer keep his job?Today's Big Question Democrats are discontented and pointing a finger at the Senate leader
-
Dick Cheney: the vice president who led the War on Terrorfeature Cheney died this month at the age of 84
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
