President-elect Donald Trump has announced an agreement with the Biden administration that will allow his transition team to begin coordinating with federal agencies two months before he enters office.
“Trump is entering the next phase of his administration’s transition by executing a memorandum of understanding with President Joe Biden’s White House,” Susie Wiles, the incoming White House chief of staff, said in a statement. “This engagement allows our intended Cabinet nominees to begin critical preparations, including the deployment of landing teams to every department and agency, and complete the orderly transition of power.”
While President Joe Biden promised an orderly transition once it became clear that Trump had won the 2024 election, Trump’s team has been slow to sign a formal agreement to start the process. The deadline for the paperwork was Oct. 1, according to federal statute.
Trump had also refused the General Services Administration’s transition resources, including office space, equipment, administrative support, and other services as required under the Presidential Transition Act. The president-elect eschewed signing two separate memoranda of understanding with the GSA as well and has not signed a required ethics plan.
Some conservatives said Trump should fund the transition efforts instead to avoid disclosure policies required by the GSA. The costs would likely fall between $14 to $16 million.
A statement from Biden White House spokeswoman Saloni Sharma reiterated that there will be a smooth transition of power but expressed frustration with Trump’s refusal to sign the GSA paperwork.
“Since September, the White House and the GSA have repeatedly made the case to the Trump transition team to sign both the GSA and White House MOUs as both parties have done during previous transitions,” she said. Trump has only signed the memorandum.
“As part of the White House MOU, the Trump-Vance transition team has agreed to important safeguards to protect non-public information and prevent conflicts of interest, including who has access to the information and how the information is shared,” Sharma’s statement reads. “The MOU also outlines that the Trump transition team will publicly post their ethics plan to the GSA website.”
The Biden White House made clear it does not agree with Trump’s decision not to sign the GSA agreement, but says it will continue to work with the incoming administration in accordance with the Presidential Transition Act.
According to the Trump team’s statement, the transition will not use taxpayer money, government buildings, or GSA-provided technology, and will operate as a “self-sufficient organization.”
“This organizational autonomy means a streamlined process that guarantees the Trump administration is ready on Day 1,” the announcement reads. “The transition already has existing security and information protections built in, which means we will not require additional government and bureaucratic oversight.”
Trump’s team says its own ethics plan meets GSA requirements for incoming personnel and confirmed that it will be posted to the GSA’s website.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Per the agreement, the Trump transition will disclose “landing team members” to the Biden administration, and donors who are funding the transition will be disclosed to the public. All donors will be domestic in origin.
Trump and Biden met in the Oval Office for more than two hours earlier this month, with the vast majority of that meeting not open to the press.