House Oversight Committee formally targets GSA Administrator Emily Murphy

Earlier today, Palmer Report pointed out that GSA Administrator Emily Murphy’s refusal to sign off on the transition was beginning to crumble, amid reports that some Trump White House officials have begun coordinating with the Biden transition team behind Donald Trump’s back. Now the House Oversight Committee is cracking down on Murphy.

A new four page letter, co-signed by the Chairs of the House Oversight Committee and House Appropriation Committee, explains that the House has been “extremely patient” but can no longer wait. Accordingly, Emily Murphy is now being ordered to brief the House committees on the transition holdup by Monday, with the threat of a full hearing to follow. We expect that if Murphy fails to comply by the deadline, she’ll find herself subpoenaed immediately thereafter.

Of course these kinds of procedural matters take time to play out. But the point of this letter is not to end up subpoenaing Emily Murphy or putting her in on the spot in a congressional hearing, much as we’d all love to see her squirm. The point of this letter is to make her realize she’s in for a prolonged world of hurt if she doesn’t cave and sign off on the transition.