FILE - In this June 21, 2019 file photo, General Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Department of Homeland Security's St. Elizabeths Campus Center Building in Washington. The head of the obscure federal government agency that is holding up Joe Biden's presidential transition knew well before Election Day she might have a messy situation on her hands well. Prior to Nov. 3, GSA administrator Emily Murphy held a Zoom call with Dave Barram, 77, a man who was in her shoes 20 years earlier during the contested 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Barram said he gave her some simple advice, “If you do the right thing, then all you have to do is live with the consequences of it.’”(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2020, file photo Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, arrives as the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress resumes in Washington. Pressure is increasing on a Trump administration official to authorize a formal transition process for President-elect Joe Biden. Portman of Ohio on Monday, Nov. 23, called for the head of the General Services Administration to release money and staffing needed for the transition. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)