UPDATE 7-U.S. General Services Administration allows Biden transition funds to begin

(Updates with Biden transition given go-ahead by GSA)

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina

WILMINGTON, Del./DETROIT, Nov 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Monday was formally given the go-ahead by a federal agency to begin his transition to the presidency, shortly after the battleground state of Michigan certified him as the winner there.

With the rapid-fire developments, President Donald Trump's already languishing efforts to overturn his Nov. 3 defeat appeared to be coming to a close.

The U.S. General Services Administration, an independent agency, informed Biden that his transition - leading up to a Jan. 20 swearing-in - could officially begin.

In a tweet, Trump wrote that GSA Administrator Emily Murphy and her team should "do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same."

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, James Oliphant, Julia Harte, Patricia Zengerle, Susan Heavey and David Morgan; additional reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Paul Simao and Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone, Grant McCool and Howard Goller)