Emily W. Murphy: Difference between revisions
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Murphy was appointed by President [[Donald Trump]] and became GSA administrator in 2017.<ref name=Nicholas/><ref name=Rein>Lisa Rein, Jonathan O'Connell & Josh Dawsey, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-gsa-letter-biden-transition/2020/11/08/07093acc-21e9-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn't budging] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109100819/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-gsa-letter-biden-transition/2020/11/08/07093acc-21e9-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html |date=November 9, 2020 }}, ''Washington Post'' (November 8, 2020).</ref> During her tenure, two issues that were personally important to Trump became sources of controversy for Murphy and the GSA: the hotel that Trump operates under a federal lease (in [[Washington, D.C.]]'s [[Old Post Office (Washington, D.C.)|Old Post Office]]) and plans for the relocation and consolidation of the [[FBI]]'s headquarters (in his first year in office, Trump personally intervened to halt the long-planned movement out of the [[J. Edgar Hoover Building]]).<ref name=Rein/> |
Murphy was appointed by President [[Donald Trump]] and became GSA administrator in 2017.<ref name=Nicholas/><ref name=Rein>Lisa Rein, Jonathan O'Connell & Josh Dawsey, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-gsa-letter-biden-transition/2020/11/08/07093acc-21e9-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn't budging] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109100819/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-gsa-letter-biden-transition/2020/11/08/07093acc-21e9-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html |date=November 9, 2020 }}, ''Washington Post'' (November 8, 2020).</ref> During her tenure, two issues that were personally important to Trump became sources of controversy for Murphy and the GSA: the hotel that Trump operates under a federal lease (in [[Washington, D.C.]]'s [[Old Post Office (Washington, D.C.)|Old Post Office]]) and plans for the relocation and consolidation of the [[FBI]]'s headquarters (in his first year in office, Trump personally intervened to halt the long-planned movement out of the [[J. Edgar Hoover Building]]).<ref name=Rein/> |
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When [[Joe Biden]] was generally acknowledged on November 7, 2020, to have won the [[2020 United States presidential election|November 2020 United States presidential election]], Murphy refused to sign a letter allowing [[United States presidential transition|Biden's transition team]] to formally begin work and access federal agencies and [[United States presidential transition|transition funds]]; this came as Trump refused to acknowledge Biden's victory.<ref name="Rein" /> By refusing to allow the Biden administration transition to proceed, she prevented the incoming administration from obtaining office space, performing background checks on prospective Cabinet nominees, and accessing classified information which might be needed to respond to emergencies that the administration confronts when in office.<ref name=StandsBetween>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/emily-murphy-trump-biden.html|title=Trump Appointee Stands Between Biden's Team and a Smooth Transition|first1=Michael D.|last1=Shear|first2=Maggie|last2=Haberman|first3=Michael|last3=Crowley|date=November 10, 2020|newspaper=New York Times}}</ref> |
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==Early life and education== |
==Early life and education== |
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Murphy was born in 1973 and raised in [[St. Louis, Missouri]].<ref name=toughtask>{{cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/st-louis-native-faces-tough-task-heading-trump-s-federal/article_c13f274f-6c0d-5d2f-958c-3076b02f2593.html |title=St. Louis native faces tough task heading Trump's federal procurement, facilities office |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |author1=Raasch, Chuck |publisher= |date=October 18, 2017 |accessdate=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221040917/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/st-louis-native-faces-tough-task-heading-trump-s-federal/article_c13f274f-6c0d-5d2f-958c-3076b02f2593.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She has one brother and one sister.{{cn|date=November 2020}} Her father was chairman of Murphy Company Mechanical Contractors and Engineers, and her mother was an attorney. Murphy attended [[Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School]], where she graduated in 1991. She gained a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree at [[Smith College]] in 1995 and then graduated [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] at the [[University of Virginia School of Law]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |last=Raasch |first=Chuck |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/trump-taps-st-louis-native-to-head-federal-agency/article_03494e13-14f8-5ac8-87e4-865807a8fe15.html |title=Trump taps St. Louis native to head federal agency |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=September 5, 2017 |accessdate=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209015601/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/trump-taps-st-louis-native-to-head-federal-agency/article_03494e13-14f8-5ac8-87e4-865807a8fe15.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/senate-okays-st-louis-native-murphy-to-head-government-s/article_a67c9434-c773-5c9d-bd01-479cee58cb74.html |title=Senate okays St. Louis native Murphy to head government's General Services Administration |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |author1=Raasch, Chuck |date=December 6, 2017 |accessdate=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206165856/http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/senate-okays-st-louis-native-murphy-to-head-government-s/article_a67c9434-c773-5c9d-bd01-479cee58cb74.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=toughtask/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.constructforstl.org/jim-murphy-jr-receives-mcaa-honor/ |title=Jim Murphy, Jr. Receives MCAA Honor |publisher=ConstructForSTL |date=March 24, 2015 |accessdate=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207142111/http://www.constructforstl.org/jim-murphy-jr-receives-mcaa-honor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
Murphy was born in 1973 and raised in [[St. Louis, Missouri]].<ref name=toughtask>{{cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/st-louis-native-faces-tough-task-heading-trump-s-federal/article_c13f274f-6c0d-5d2f-958c-3076b02f2593.html |title=St. Louis native faces tough task heading Trump's federal procurement, facilities office |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |author1=Raasch, Chuck |publisher= |date=October 18, 2017 |accessdate=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221040917/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/st-louis-native-faces-tough-task-heading-trump-s-federal/article_c13f274f-6c0d-5d2f-958c-3076b02f2593.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She has one brother and one sister.{{cn|date=November 2020}} Her father was chairman of Murphy Company Mechanical Contractors and Engineers, and her mother was an attorney. Murphy attended [[Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School]], where she graduated in 1991. She gained a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree at [[Smith College]] in 1995 and then graduated [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] at the [[University of Virginia School of Law]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |last=Raasch |first=Chuck |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/trump-taps-st-louis-native-to-head-federal-agency/article_03494e13-14f8-5ac8-87e4-865807a8fe15.html |title=Trump taps St. Louis native to head federal agency |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=September 5, 2017 |accessdate=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209015601/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/trump-taps-st-louis-native-to-head-federal-agency/article_03494e13-14f8-5ac8-87e4-865807a8fe15.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/senate-okays-st-louis-native-murphy-to-head-government-s/article_a67c9434-c773-5c9d-bd01-479cee58cb74.html |title=Senate okays St. Louis native Murphy to head government's General Services Administration |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |author1=Raasch, Chuck |date=December 6, 2017 |accessdate=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206165856/http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/senate-okays-st-louis-native-murphy-to-head-government-s/article_a67c9434-c773-5c9d-bd01-479cee58cb74.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=toughtask/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.constructforstl.org/jim-murphy-jr-receives-mcaa-honor/ |title=Jim Murphy, Jr. Receives MCAA Honor |publisher=ConstructForSTL |date=March 24, 2015 |accessdate=December 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207142111/http://www.constructforstl.org/jim-murphy-jr-receives-mcaa-honor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Revision as of 23:14, 16 November 2020
Emily Murphy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Administrator of General Services | |
| Assumed office December 12, 2017 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Allison Brigati |
| Preceded by | Timothy Horne (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Emily Webster Murphy 1973 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Smith College (BA) University of Virginia (JD) |
Emily Webster Murphy (born 1973) is an American attorney and government official who is the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) which oversees the federal civilian workforce and federal government properties and contracts.[1]
Murphy was appointed by President Donald Trump and became GSA administrator in 2017.[1][2] During her tenure, two issues that were personally important to Trump became sources of controversy for Murphy and the GSA: the hotel that Trump operates under a federal lease (in Washington, D.C.'s Old Post Office) and plans for the relocation and consolidation of the FBI's headquarters (in his first year in office, Trump personally intervened to halt the long-planned movement out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building).[2]
When Joe Biden was generally acknowledged on November 7, 2020, to have won the November 2020 United States presidential election, Murphy refused to sign a letter allowing Biden's transition team to formally begin work and access federal agencies and transition funds; this came as Trump refused to acknowledge Biden's victory.[2] By refusing to allow the Biden administration transition to proceed, she prevented the incoming administration from obtaining office space, performing background checks on prospective Cabinet nominees, and accessing classified information which might be needed to respond to emergencies that the administration confronts when in office.[3]
Early life and education
Murphy was born in 1973 and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.[4] She has one brother and one sister.[citation needed] Her father was chairman of Murphy Company Mechanical Contractors and Engineers, and her mother was an attorney. Murphy attended Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School, where she graduated in 1991. She gained a Bachelor of Arts degree at Smith College in 1995 and then graduated J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law in 2001.[5][6][4][7]
Career
After graduating from Smith College, Murphy moved to Washington, D.C., where she began her career at the Republican National Committee. She worked for the RNC from October 1995 to January 1997, where she served as Assistant to the Director of Administration. She then worked as a staff member for Jim Talent while he served as Chair of the House Committee on Small Business from January 1997 to July 1998, before leaving to pursue a law degree.[8]
Murphy previously served as counsel at the United States House Committee on Armed Services, where she specialized in acquisition policy and reform. She has also held roles at the Small Business Administration and at the GSA, where she served as the agency's first Chief Acquisition Officer. Murphy served under three chairmen of the United States House Committee on Small Business. Her private sector experience includes five years in executive positions at a technology startup company engaged in federal contracting and three years as a government contracts attorney with two D.C. law firms.[9][10]
Trump administration
Nomination and confirmation
After President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, Murphy was appointed to the position of senior advisor to acting General Services Administration administrator Timothy Horne.[11][12] On September 2, 2017, Trump nominated Murphy to the post of GSA administrator. The Senate confirmed Murphy's appointment by unanimous consent on December 5, 2017.[11]
Federal lease for Trump hotel and FBI headquarters project
During her tenure, two issues that were personally important to Trump became sources of controversy for Murphy and the GSA: the hotel that Trump operates under a federal lease (in Washington, D.C.'s Old Post Office) and plans for the relocation and consolidation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters.[2]
The FBI had long-scheduled a move out of its D.C. headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building, as the aging building was falling apart and not secure.[2] The bureau's headquarters were planned to move to a suburban location.[2] Although the project had been in the works for more than a decade, Trump personally intervened in 2017 (during the first year of Trump's term and Murphy's tenure) to kill the plan.[2] Democrats said that Trump canceled the move to prevent the Hoover Building site from being redeveloped into a hotel that could compete with Trump's hotel across the street; the Trump White House denied that Trump's business played into the decision.[2][13] House Democrats investigated the episode.[13] In April 2018, Murphy told a congressional oversight hearing that the decision to stop the FBI from moving its headquarters came solely from the bureau without the involvement of Trump.[13] However, three months later, the GSA inspector general (IG) released a report finding that Murphy's statement to Congress was "incomplete and may have left the misleading impression that she had no discussions with White House officials in the decision-making."[13][14] The report revealed that Murphy and other GSA officials had multiple meetings with Trump about the FBI headquarters, specifically a two-day meeting in January 2018 between Murphy, Trump, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, and budget director Mick Mulvaney.[15] The IG report also found that GSA officials misrepresented the costs of an alternative plan to build a new FBI headquarters in downtown D.C., portraying the replacement plan as cheaper than the original plan when it would actually be more expensive.[15] In October 2018, internal GSA emails disclosed by House Democrats showing that GSA discussed "the President's instructions", "direction from WH" and "what was decided in the meeting with POTUS" in January 2018.[13]
Inspector general report regarding use of GSA headquarters rooftop
In August 2019, a report by the GSA inspector general, examining an episode in 2017, was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. The report examined an episode in which a GSA associate administrator (who later left the government) admitted to having sex with a White House staffer on the GSA headquarters rooftop after drinking alcohol in a suite area. Murphy reportedly told investigators in February 2018 "that she 'often permits' her immediate staffers to drink alcohol in the office after business hours on Fridays but said she was 'very careful about such approvals.'"[16]
2020 presidential election
The GSA administrator officially determines when an incoming presidential administration (the winner in a presidential election) can begin to access federal agencies and transition funds. After Joe Biden became generally acknowledged on November 7, 2020, as president-elect in the November 2020 election, Murphy refused to sign a letter (the "ascertainment" determination) allowing Biden's transition team to formally begin work to facilitate an orderly transition of power.[3][2] By refusing to allow the Biden administration transition to proceed, she prevented the incoming administration from obtaining office space, performing background checks on prospective Cabinet nominees, and accessing classified information which might be needed to respond to emergencies that the administration confronts when in office.[3][2] Murphy's withholding of the letter also blocked President-elect Biden's transition team from accessing several million dollars in federal transition funds for salaries and other costs, establishing government email addresses, and working with the Office of Government Ethics on required financial disclosure and conflict-of-interest forms for incoming nominees.[3][2]
The following day, the nonpartisan Center for Presidential Transition issued a statement saying "We urge the Trump administration to immediately begin the post-election transition process and the Biden team to take full advantage of the resources available under the Presidential Transition Act."[17][18] The letter was signed by several experts in presidential transitions: Joshua Bolten, President George W. Bush's former chief of staff; Mike Leavitt, former governor of Utah and Bush's Secretary of Health and Human Services; Mack McLarty, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff; and Penny Pritzker, Barack Obama's Secretary of Commerce.[18] Following the 2016 presidential election, the acting GSA administrator issued the "ascertainment" letter immediately after Election Day.[3] The last time an administration declined to issue the ascertainment letter due to ongoing legal challenges was in 2000, when the letter was not issued until the Supreme Court ruling on Bush v. Gore in mid-December decided the outcome of the election.[2][3][19][20] The GSA cited the 2000 election as "prior precedent" in the process it uses to issue an ascertainment determination.[21][22] Biden's aides stated that the dispute in the 2000 election was very different, with the outcome hinging on a difference of about 500 ballots in one state – far less than the margin in any of the close states in the 2020 contest.[23][24]
Andy Card, the first White House chief of staff under George W. Bush, expressed concern about the delay, noting that "the 9/11 Commission had said if there had been a longer transition [in 2000] and there had been cooperation, there might have been a better response, or maybe not even any attack".[25]
References
- ^ a b Nicholas, Scott (December 6, 2017). "Senate Clears Emily Murphy as Next GSA Administrator". ExecutiveGov. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lisa Rein, Jonathan O'Connell & Josh Dawsey, A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn't budging Archived November 9, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post (November 8, 2020).
- ^ a b c d e f Shear, Michael D.; Haberman, Maggie; Crowley, Michael (November 10, 2020). "Trump Appointee Stands Between Biden's Team and a Smooth Transition". New York Times.
- ^ a b Raasch, Chuck (October 18, 2017). "St. Louis native faces tough task heading Trump's federal procurement, facilities office". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ Raasch, Chuck (September 5, 2017). "Trump taps St. Louis native to head federal agency". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ Raasch, Chuck (December 6, 2017). "Senate okays St. Louis native Murphy to head government's General Services Administration". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ "Jim Murphy, Jr. Receives MCAA Honor". ConstructForSTL. March 24, 2015. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ "Nomination of Emily W. Murphy to be Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration". Gsa.gov. October 18, 2017. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the General Services Administration.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". The White House. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the White House.
- ^ Adams, Ramona (September 5, 2017). "Emily Webster Murphy to Receive GSA Administrator Nomination". ExecutiveGov. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ a b Mazmanian, Adam (December 5, 2017). "Senate confirms new DHS, GSA chiefs". FCW. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ Raasch, Chuck (September 5, 2017). "Trump taps St. Louis native to head federal agency". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Blumenthal, Paul (July 3, 2019). "Democratic Probe Of Trump's Role In Keeping FBI HQ Across From His Hotel Deepens". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ Byron Tau & Sadie Gurman, Trump Was Involved in FBI Headquarters Plan, Watchdog Says Archived October 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Wall Street Journal (August 27, 2018).
- ^ a b Jonathan O'Connell, White House role in FBI headquarters plan detailed in watchdog report Archived October 16, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post (August 27, 2018).
- ^ MacFarlane, Scott (August 21, 2019). "Ex-GSA Official Had Sex With White House Staffer on Govt. Agency Rooftop: Investigation". NBC4 TV. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- ^ Smith, Allan; Przybyla, Heide (November 9, 2020). "Trump appointee slow-walks Biden transition. That could delay the president-elect's Covid-19 plan". NBC News. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ a b Wolfe, Jan (November 9, 2020). "Explainer: How and when will Trump leave office?". Reuters. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ "Attention Turns to Government Agency Tasked With Identifying a Winner - WSJ.com". WSJ. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ Hoge, Warren (November 9, 2000). "THE 2000 ELECTIONS: WORLD REACTION; A Baffling Outcome in America, of All Places". The New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Naylor, Brian (November 9, 2020). "What Role Does Federal Agency Play In Presidential Transition?". NPR.org. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Naylor, Brian (November 10, 2020). "Trump Appointee Delays Biden Transition Process, Citing Need For 'Clear' Winner". NPR.org. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rice, Andrews (November 5, 2020). "The 2000 Election Never Ended". New York Magazine. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ Shear, Michael D.; Haberman, Maggie; Crowley, Michael (November 10, 2020). "Trump Appointee Stands Between Biden's Team and a Smooth Transition" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/11/former-bush-chief-of-staff-cites-9/11-warns-about-slow-transition.html
External links
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