WHAT are we grateful for as a nation this Thanksgiving?
While President Donald Trump has not yet conceded defeat in the election declared by his own election officials to be clean and secure, despite Biden winning both the electoral vote and the popular vote using the same process that made Trump “President-Elect” in 2016, we are grateful that after 17 days, the peaceful and orderly transition of executive power will begin on Monday, November 30.
This much-awaited and much-needed development finally became a reality when on Monday, November 23, Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration (GSA) officially authorized President-elect Joe Biden to begin his transition to the presidency on Monday.
Here are the facts and timeline as reported by Forbes:
• In the letter, provided to Forbes by both the GSA and the Biden transition, Murphy, a Trump appointee, said she would “make certain post-election resources available to assist in the result of a presidential transition.”
• Murphy said she arrived “independently” at the decision to ascertain Biden’s apparent victory after refusing to do so for three weeks following the election, claiming she was “never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive branch official.
• Shortly after the letter became public, Trump tweeted that Murphy was “harassed, threatened, and abused” and claimed he was “recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”
• Murphy took aim at the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 – which empowers the GSA provide transition resources to the president-elect, which it defines as the “apparent successful candidate” – claiming it “provides no procedures or standards for this process” and urging Congress to amend it.
• Murphy said she would make $6.3 million set aside for the transition available to Biden along with $1 million for appointee orientation while noting that the transition team is required to report their spending to the GSA.
• The Biden transition said in a statement that the decision would provide them with “the resources and support necessary to carry out a smooth and peaceful transfer of power” calling it a “needed step” in “tackling the challenges facing our nation.”
Whatever really happened behind the scenes, what is important is we can now look forward to the Biden Administration being ready to take over on January 20, 2021 without disruption of key executive function and services especially when it comes to national security and the war against COVID-19.
The Biden transition team will now be getting the needed information and resources to needed to be ready with all the plan of action ready for execution when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in as President and Vice President respectively.
Trump’s not conceding will not stop the lawful transfer of power pursuant to the Constitution and the rule of law, respecting the will of the people as voiced out decisively in the election. Joe Biden has garnered more than 80 million votes – the highest number of popular votes in U.S. history.
Joe Biden has already started the process to be ready on Day One as President the moment he was projected to be President-elect on November 7. He has organized his coronavirus task force composed of health experts and scientists.
The President-elect has also announced on November 23 his nominees and appointees for key foreign policy and national security posts.
When it comes to Biden’s pick for cabinet positions, the Washington Post reported that “in contrast to President Trump’s notably White and male Cabinet, Biden has promised to be “a president for all Americans” and build a Cabinet that reflects its diversity.”
This development ushers in more certainty and stability in government after four years of chaos under the Trump administration. Even the stock market index rose to an all-time high after this breaking news of the Biden transition being authorized was made public.
What else are we grateful for as a nation this Thanksgiving? Let me share an excerpt from the Thanksgiving message of President-elect Joe Biden:
What should we give thanks for in this season?
First, let us be thankful for democracy itself. In this election year, we have seen record numbers of Americans exercise their most sacred right — that of the vote — to register their will at the ballot box.
Think about that. In the middle of a pandemic, more people voted this year than have ever voted in the history of America.
Over 150 million people cast a ballot. That is simply extraordinary.
If you want to know what beats deep in the heart of America, it’s this: democracy.
The right to determine our lives, our government, our leaders. The right to be heard.
Our democracy was tested this year. And what we learned is this: The people of this nation are up to the task.
In America, we have full and fair and free elections, and then we honor the results. The people of this nation and the laws of the land won’t stand for anything else.
Through the vote — the noblest instrument of nonviolent protest ever conceived — we are reminded anew that progress is possible.
That “We the People” have the power to change what Jefferson called “the course of human events.”
That with our hearts and hands and voices, today can be better than yesterday, and tomorrow can be better still.
We should be thankful, too, that America is a covenant and an unfolding story.
We have what we need to create prosperity, opportunity and justice: Americans have grit and generosity, a capacity for greatness and reservoirs of goodness.
We have what it takes. Now we must act.
And this is our moment — ours together — to write a newer, bolder, more compassionate
chapter in the life of our nation.
The work ahead will not be easy. And it will not be quick.
You want solutions, not shouting.
Reason, not hyper-partisanship.
Light, not heat.
You want us to hear one another again, see one another again, respect one another again.
You want us — Democrats and Republicans and Independents — to come together and work together.
And that, my friends, is what I am determined to do.
Americans dream big.
And, as hard as it may seem this Thanksgiving, we are going to dream big again.
Our future is bright.
In fact, I have never been more optimistic about the future of America than I am right now.
I believe the 21st Century is going to be an American Century.
We are going to build an economy that leads the world.
We are going to lead the world by the power of our example — not the example of our power.
We are going to lead the world on climate and save the planet.
We are going to find cures for cancer and Alzheimer’s and diabetes.
And we are going to finally root out systemic racism in our country.
On this Thanksgiving, and in anticipation of all the Thanksgivings to come, let us dream again. Let us commit ourselves to thinking not only of ourselves but of others.
For if we care for one another — if we open our arms rather than brandish our fists —
we can, with God’s help, heal.
And if we do, and I am sure we can, we can proclaim with the Psalmist who wrote: “The Lord is my strength and my shield … and with my song I give thanks to him.”
And I give thanks now: for you and for the trust you have placed in me.
Together, we will lift our voices in the coming months and years, and our song shall be of lives saved, breaches repaired, and a nation made whole.
From the Biden family to yours, wherever and however you may be celebrating, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
God bless you, and may God protect our troops.
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at [email protected], or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.
