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 also eschewed signing two separate memoranda of understanding with the GSA 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.
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 it has its own ethics plan that meets GSA requirements for incoming personnel and that the ethics plan will be posted to the GSA’s website.
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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. The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Biden White House seeking comment.
