The landmark overhaul of the Electoral Count Act isn’t the only way the omnibus spending bill that’s heading to President Joe Biden’s desk seeks to avoid a repeat of 2020’s post-election chaos.
Also among the provisions in the catchall bill is a bipartisan effort to avoid a repeat of another controversy driven by an appointee of former President Donald Trump that was eventually overshadowed by the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. The House cleared the omnibus measure on Friday afternoon, sending it on to the president.
The General Services Administration, run at the time by Administrator Emily Murphy, delayed making an “ascertainment” that Joe Biden had in fact prevailed in the election, a move that hampered the transition by keeping the incoming Biden team from getting customary access to transition resources, national intelligence briefings and other important information, including about the COVID-19 pandemic.
