By Zeke Miller
The course of President-elect Joe Biden’s transition to power is dependent in part on an obscure declaration called “ascertainment.”
Here are some details on that process:
WHAT IS ASCERTAINMENT?
The formal presidential transition doesn’t begin until the administrator of the federal General Services Administration ascertains the “apparent successful candidate” in the general election. Neither the Presidential Transition Act nor federal regulations specify how that determination should be made. That decision green lights the entire federal government’s moves toward preparing for a handover of power.
WHY HASN'T IT HAPPENED YET?
Spokesperson Pamela Pennington said in a statement that “GSA and its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law,” but the agency has not said why the decision to recognize Joe Biden as the president-elect has not been made. GSA is an executive branch agency. Its administrator, Emily Murphy, is a Trump appointee, but the ascertainment decision is supposed to be apolitical. The White House did not say whether there have been conversations on the matter between officials there and at GSA.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The determination clears the way for millions of federal dollars to flow to Biden’s transition team and opens the doors of the federal government to hundreds of Biden staffers, so they can begin assessing agency operations ahead of Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. A delay in recognizing Biden as the next president could slow federal resources to assist the Biden-Harris team in filling about 4,000 political appointments across the government — including critical national security and health postings.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Slowing the pace of the transition could hamstring a new administration right out of the gate. The Trump administration, experts say, never fully recovered from the slow pace of hiring from its mismanaged 2016 transition after Trump tossed aside carefully prepared plans the day after his victory.
HAS THIS DELAY EVER HAPPENED BEFORE?
In 2000, the GSA determination was delayed until after the Florida recount fight was settled. The abbreviated transition process was identified by the 9/11 Commission Report as contributing to the nation’s unpreparedness for the crisis.
The RNC spokeswoman says Republicans are willing to look into tighter regulations and that even politicians who receive donations from the NRA want to "make sure this never happens again."
Saadia Zahidi, author of "Fifty Million Rising", says Saudi Arabia now has about half a million women in the workforce. She says governments need to realize how much market power this group has and what they can do to foster that talent.
CRTV's Nate Madden and Eric Boehm from Reason Magazine discuss the student survivors from the Parkland shooting who emerged this weekend as activists in the fight for gun reform.
Billionaire Tom Steyer is putting his personal fortune behind an effort to get President Trump out of office. Special counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Coinbase users took to social media and Reddit to complain about glitches on the platform. Coinbase says the root of the problem is credit card processing managed by Visa. But, Visa says they didn't cause the problem.
The FBI is admitting that it failed to investigate the shooter who killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida this week. Now, Florida Governor Rick Scott is calling on FBI Director Christopher Wray's resignation. Axios Reporter Stef Kight explains the implications of these findings.
Billionaire Tom Steyer is putting his personal fortune behind an effort to get President Trump out of office. The "Need to Impeach" initiative started with a YouTube video, and now more than 4.7 Million people have signed its petition. Tom Steyer, Founder and President of "Need to Impeach," explains how he is trying to influence the political landscape.
The billionaire and former hedge fund manager questions the president's response to news that Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals. Steyer, who's launched a "Need to Impeach" campaign, wants to know what Trump is hiding.
The UK is pinning the blame on Russia for the "PETYA" cyberattack that crippled firms, including FedEx and Merck. Stu Woo, Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joined us to break down the implications of the claim.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is doubling down on the app redesign. Shake Shack plans to open 32-35 new locations this year. Miso Robotics, the firm behind automated burger-flipper, "Flippy," The company behind a patty-flipping robot just got a major influx of cash.
The FCC Chairman is being investigated for potential collusion. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is defending the controversial app redesign after growing backlash. The much-anticipated Marvel film "Black Panther" hits theaters Friday. Skip Kodak, SVP of LEGO Americas Group, joins Cheddar to discuss the 60th anniversary of the company.
