By Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Less than two months before being sworn into office, President-elect Donald Trump has yet to sign the presidential transition paperwork that unlocks critical clearances, information and access to White House resources for his transition team.
Political experts say this is worrisome because history shows the period early in a presidency can be a vulnerable time for a new administration, and the point of easing the transition is so a new president’s staff can access government offices early and avoid problems.
Trump, who has rapidly announced senior staff and Cabinet picks over the last 15 days, has still not finalized multiple agreements that are foundational for his team to begin receiving confidential information and briefings across all federal agencies, as well as millions of dollars in transition resources, including office space and staff assistance.
The Trump-Vance transition team has not responded to multiple requests for a status update on the agreements. Transition spokesperson Brian Hughes told States Newsroom in an email Nov. 11 that the team’s lawyers “continue to constructively engage with the Biden-Harris Administration lawyers regarding all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act. We will update you once a decision is made.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday that the “teams continue to stay in touch.”
“So we’re going to continue to engage with the Trump transition team to ensure that we do have that efficient, effective transition of power,” she said.
The White House did not respond for further comment Friday.
President Joe Biden met with Trump at the White House on Nov. 13 to discuss the transition.
‘Absolutely critical’
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One document missing signatures from the president-elect and his team is a memorandum of understanding with the current White House administration. The agreement allows incoming personnel to meet with designated transition staff at each federal agency.
“Without signing it by law, they cannot access these government offices, so that means zero briefings. To me, that’s really dangerous,” Tenpas said in response to a States Newsroom question Thursday at a Brookings Institution panel on planning and staffing during presidential transitions. Tenpas is also director of Brookings’ Katzmann Initiative on Improving Interbranch Relations in Government.
Tenpas cited the Miller Center’s First Year Project findings that crises have occurred during the initial phases of past presidential administrations. No one could forget that the horrific 9/11 attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center occurred within eight months of President George W. Bush taking office.
Tenpas also noted that a little over one month into former President Bill Clinton’s first term, terrorists exploded a bomb in the World Trade Center’s parking garage. Less than eight months later, fighters in Somalia shot down two American Black Hawk helicopters, killing 18 U.S. troops and injuring dozens more.
Reaching back decades, President John F. Kennedy lost more than 100 troops in the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 and more than 10 times as many were taken hostage. Kennedy had just taken office in January 1961.
“So there are all these historical incidents that indicate that this first year is a really vulnerable moment for the United States,” Tenpas said, adding that current geopolitical events suggest now is “not a time where you need to be lackadaisical.”
Transition process and law
The Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and its subsequent amendments, outline the legal requirements for the hand-off of power between outgoing and incoming leaders.
The process begins nearly two years before an election, when the U.S. General Services Administration designates a federal transition coordinator who later reports to Congress on how the process is going. The GSA becomes a liaison for the process as the election nears, according to the Center for Presidential Transition at the Partnership for Public Service.
Six months before an election, the current administration establishes a White House Transition Coordinating Council and readies each federal agency for the change.
No later than Sept. 1 during a general election year, the GSA and eligible presidential nominees are required to sign a memorandum of understanding to access office space and administrative support.
An agreement between the nominees and White House is then required by Oct. 1. The memo finalizes access to federal agencies and makes public a transition team’s ethics plans and how they will be implemented.
Transition materials from the current administration are required to be in process no later than Nov. 1.
The Trump team has blown past these deadlines.
The memoranda are publicly available, and records show that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign submitted an ethics plan and the agreement with the GSA.
A condition for the agreements, and the funding they release, is that nominees must disclose all transition fundraising dollars, which are kept separate from campaign funds. Individual contributions to transitions are capped at $5,000.
Separately, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 allows eligible candidates to submit security clearance requests for prospective transition team members ahead of the election so that determinations can be made the day after a victory is announced.
This article originally appeared in Louisiana Illuminator on November 22nd, 2024
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