WASHINGTON (AP) — The course of President-elect Joe Biden's transition to power is dependent in part on an obscure declaration called "ascertainment."
The formal presidential transition doesn't begin until the administrator of the federal General Services Administration ascertains the "apparent successful candidate" in the general election.
Neither the Presidential Transition Act nor federal regulations specify how that determination should be made.
The decision greenlights the entire federal government's moves toward preparing for a handover of power.
