GOP leaders are leaving Emily Murphy, the administrator for the General Services Administration, "twisting in the wind" alone, but she should have their cover while she ascertains Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential race, David Barram, the GSA administrator during the contested election between Al Gore and George W. Bush in 2000, said Thursday.
"These Republican senators and Cabinet members who are letting Emily set out there twisting in the wind strike me as not courageous," Barram, who was appointed in 1997 by then-President Bill Clinton, said on CNN's "New Day." "They're being not courageous and asking her to be courageous. It's just not right. She cannot avoid the responsibility that's hers to ascertain, but it would be better for a lot of us if she had a lot more cover."
Barram said he does not know everything that Murphy knows, but from what he knows and has heard in the news, he would ascertain Biden as the winner if he were still the administrator.
"It's clear to me that we should be recognizing Joe Biden as the president-elect," said Barram. "George Bush, one of the contenders in 2000, has said the outcome is clear. That's good enough for me."
Barram said The Associated Press, "which I considered the gold standard of calling elections," had not called the Gore/Bush race, whereas now, most news sources have called the race for Biden.
He added that he thinks Murphy is under a great deal of pressure, but he thinks she needs to make a decision because "it will make everything work when she finally does."
According to the GSA, Murphy, who President Donald Trump appointed in 2017, will not use her power of ascertainment until a "winner is clear, based on the process laid out in the Constitution."
The last time there was a delay in the ascertainment process was during the recount in the 2000 race, when Barram was in charge. He said Murphy called him before the election because she wanted to hear about his experiences in the contested race.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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