The decision to greenlight Joe Biden's transition was made independently, said the head of the General Services Administration. Biden's team said the US agency dubbed Biden and Harris "the apparent winners" of the vote.
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The US General Services Administration has told President-elect Joe Biden that his transition can formally begin, according to a letter from GSA Administrator Emily Murphy.
The letter marks the first time the administration has acknowledged President Donald Trump's defeat, more than two weeks after Biden was declared the winner by virtually all major observer bodies and media outlets.
"Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts," Murphy said. She added that she did not act under political pressure.
"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."
The move means that Biden's team will now have federal funds and an official office to conduct his transition over the next two months. It also allows for Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to receive regular national security briefings that Trump also gets.
Under US law, the outgoing administration must work with an incoming president's team to help ensure stability.
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Trump tells GSA to go ahead with 'initial protocols'
Trump, who has far refused to concede defeat, tweeted that he had given Murphy the go-ahead, despite plans to continue with legal challenges.
"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," he said.
"Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good ... fight, and I believe we will prevail! 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," Trump wrote.
Biden aides confirm transition start
Biden's team also confirmed the move. "The GSA administrator has ascertained President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as the apparent winners of the election, providing the incoming administration with the resources and support necessary to carry out a smooth and peaceful transfer of power."
Who are Joe Biden's presidential Cabinet picks?
President-elect Joe Biden has begun announcing Cabinet positions as he prepares to take over the White House. Most picks thus far served under President Barack Obama. The US Senate must confirm most of these nominees.
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Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
Blinken is a longtime confidant of President-elect Joe Biden. He's served under two Democratic presidents as well as a key aide on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He also served as a deputy national security adviser and deputy secretary of state in the second Obama administration, when Biden was vice president.
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General Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary
Austin was a controversial pick — his long career as a military officer requires a Congressional waiver before he can be confirmed. Austin held a series of prominent roles in the US Army and worked with Obama during the US withdrawal from Iraq. If successful, he would be the first Black Pentagon chief.
Image: Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP/Getty Images
Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary
Biden's nominee for the top position — the first woman ever if confirmed — goes some way towards fulfilling his promise to select a diverse cabinet. Yellen served on the policymaking committee of the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis and advised Bill Clinton. She would be taking the reigns during one of the worst economic crises in US history.
Image: Christopher Aluka Berry/REUTERS
Ron Klain, Chief of Staff
A veteran of Washington DC, Klain was an early pick for Biden. As White House chief of staff, he will work closely with the president, setting his agenda and coordinating the levers of power. Klain worked with Biden before when he was vice president as well as serving directly under former President Barack Obama as the Ebola Czar.
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Xavier Becerra, Health Secretary
The California Attorney General was picked to head up the health department under Biden's incoming cabinet during a global health crisis that has hit the US particularly hard. Becerra also helped in passing the Affordable Care Act when he sat in Congress. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first Latino appointed to the role.
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John Kerry, climate change envoy
The former secretary of state will become Biden's special presidential envoy for climate. Kerry served as a senator from Massachusetts from 1983 to 2013 before taking the top foreign policy role in the second Obama administration. Kerry signed the Paris Climate Agreement for the United States in 2015 — Donald Trump pulled the US out of the accord two years later.
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Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN
Thomas-Greenfield served in high-level State Department positions under Obama from 2013 to 2017. She led US policy in sub-Saharan African during the Ebola outbreak. Biden plans to restore the UN ambassador role to a White House Cabinet position.
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Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security
The Cuban-American headed Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama. He led the implementation of the DACA program that allowed so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the US illegally as children, to stay in the country. If confirmed, he would become the first immigrant and Hispanic to head the Department of Homeland Security.
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Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser
Sullivan served as Biden's national security adviser from 2013 to 2014 while he was vice president. He also served as Hillary Clinton's deputy when she was Secretary of State. He later served as her chief foreign policy adviser during her unsuccessful presidential bid in 2016.
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Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence
Haines was the first woman to serve as deputy director of the CIA, a role she held from 2013 to 2015. She succeeded Antony Blinken as deputy national security adviser when he moved over to the state department in 2015. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to head the US intelligence community.
A letter from his transition office said the duo would first address the pandemic and economy.
"Today's decision is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track," transition director Yohannes Abraham said in a statement. "This final decision is a definitive administrative action to formally begin the transition process with federal agencies."
"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 complete understanding of the Trump administration's efforts to hollow out government agencies," said Abraham.
