Another Former NASA Political Appointee Is Acting Extra Trumpy
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Top Trump appointee at USAID tells colleagues not to support Biden transition, Washington Post
“John Barsa, who holds the title of acting deputy administrator, told political appointees at USAID on Monday afternoon that the agency would not cooperate with the transition until Murphy does so. Barsa has told colleagues in other conversations that Biden has not won and emphasized the importance of not abetting the process, two people said.”
Keith’s note: According to Wikipedia “During the George W. Bush Administration, Barsa worked as a legislative affairs special assistant at NASA.” and “Barsa became acting administrator [of USAID] on April 13, 2020, after the resignation of Mark Andrew Green. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, he was required to step down after 210 days unless he was nominated for the position and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Instead, on November 6, 2020, Trump fired Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick and named Barsa to her position in an acting capacity, effectively keeping him at the helm of the agency, even though the role was a demotion.”
– Trump Fires Head Of U.S. Global Change Research Program, earlier post
– Former NASA Chief Of Staff Erik Noble Purges NOAA Chief Scientist, earlier post
– USGS Director (Former NASA Astronaut) James Reilly Retaliated Against Whistleblower (Update), earlier post
It will be interesting to see what arguments the people blocking the transition come up with when the states officially certify their elections around the end of November.
You don’t expect the GSA to sign off by then?
No, I do not.
That would certainly be bad.
I will come back here and congratulate you on your pessimistic foresight if that is how it plays out, but I suspect we will get what amounts to a grudging concession sometime in the next couple weeks, but even barring that, I expect the GAO to authorize transition activities by the time states certify their electors.
Donald Trump is acting like a quasi-dictator with his determination to stay in office any way possible, and it appears that people under him do not want to anger him, the GAO included. The only Republicans who are speaking out for him to accept the election results are people not part of the executive branch (Senators, Governors, and such) or members of his family.
Hey Marc,
I was glad to see that my prediction came true.
I had no desire to come back with an I-Told-You-So back in November, but now in January I just wanted to say that with what I’ve heard lately, I’m now surprised they did sign off.
Funny that I now give more credence to your prediction six weeks after it failed than I did two days before it was called!
Is this it?
Jeremy Herb, CNN: “NEWS: The GSA has informed president-elect Joe Biden the administration is ready to begin the formal transition process, according to a letter from administrator Emily Murphy sent Monday afternoon …”
Image of letter included.
https://twitter.com/jeremyh…
It’s quite simple; the Electoral Collage has not met and certified the election. Until that time, there has been no determination on who won.
It’s been that way for the lase 232 years; The U.S. Constitution came into effect June 21, 1788… 🙂
Oh please. It has not been this way for 232 years. Vote tallies are clear within hours – days at most. This is just a delaying tactic by Trump.
The republicans are hilarious .. listen to them only two years ago about the media calling the election.. true hypocritical gold…
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
Not a sustainable position. Even Sen Lankford from OK said he would intervene to get Biden the PDB.
It’s certainly fair to criticize John Barsa for his comments, but does he have any choice regarding transition at USAID? Would it be legal for an agency head to proceed with transition activities if the GSA hasn’t signed off on it yet?
Isn’t his statement *regarding official transition activity* quoted in the WP article factually correct? “The only official announcement about an election result that matters is from the head of GSA. So until the head of GSA makes a determination as to who won an election, nothing changes — there is no transition in place.”