United States presidential transition: Difference between revisions
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{{main|Presidential transition of Donald Trump}} |
{{main|Presidential transition of Donald Trump}} |
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On the evening of November 8, 2016, the day of the presidential election, outgoing president Barack Obama spoke with Trump and formally invited him to the White House |
On the evening of November 8, 2016, the day of the [[2016 United States presidential election|presidential election]], outgoing president [[Barack Obama]] spoke with presumptive winner [[Donald Trump]] and formally invited him to the White House for November 10, for discussions to ensure "that there is a successful transition between our presidencies". |
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Early on November 9, media outlets |
Early on November 9, media outlets projected Trump would secure enough votes in the Electoral College to win the presidential election, and Democratic Party nominee [[Hillary Clinton]] conceded the election to him later that day.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/politics/donald-trump-won-now-what.html|title=Highlights of Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech and President Obama's Remarks|date=November 9, 2016|work=The New York Times|accessdate=November 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109122336/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/politics/donald-trump-won-now-what.html|archive-date=November 9, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Also on November 9, the acting [[General Services Administration|GSA Administrator]] issued the "ascertainment letter” to officially designate Trump president-elect,<ref name=StandsBetween>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/emily-murphy-trump-biden.html|title=Trump Appointee Stands Between Biden's Team and a Smooth Transition|first1=Michael D. |last1=Shear |first2=Maggie |last2=Haberman| first3=Michael |last3=Crowley|date=November 10, 2020|newspaper=New York Times}}</ref> and the transition team was provided office space and were also eligible for government funding for staff. Also on November 9, Trump and [[Mike Pence]] were offered the full [[President's Daily Brief]], with the first briefing taking place on November 15.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Latest: FAA imposes restrictions over Trump Tower |url=http://www.wkow.com/story/33666891/the-latest-faa-imposes-restrictions-over-trump-tower |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110110308/http://www.wkow.com/story/33666891/the-latest-faa-imposes-restrictions-over-trump-tower |archivedate=November 10, 2016 |accessdate=November 9, 2016 |work=[[WKOW-TV]] |date=November 9, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Acosta|first1=Jim|title=Trump receives first President's Daily Brief|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/15/politics/trump-getting-first-presidential-daily-briefing-tuesday/index.html|accessdate=November 15, 2016|work=[[CNN]]|date=November 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115182333/http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/15/politics/trump-getting-first-presidential-daily-briefing-tuesday/index.html|archive-date=November 15, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The Trump transition website was launched on November 9.<ref name="p24">{{cite news |title=45| url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration|accessdate=November 9, 2016|work=[[Politico]]|date=November 9, 2016}}</ref> |
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The Trump transition team was led by Vice President-elect |
The Trump transition team was led by Vice President-elect Mike Pence and had six vice-chairs: former transition head [[Chris Christie]], [[Ben Carson]], [[Newt Gingrich]], [[Michael T. Flynn|Michael Flynn]], [[Rudy Giuliani]] and [[Jeff Sessions]].<ref name="pencereplaceschristie">{{Cite news|url=http://politi.co/2fk1gNU|title=Pence to take over Trump's transition effort from Christie|date=November 11, 2016|work=Politico|last2=Nelson|first2=Louis|last1=Thrush|first1=Glenn|accessdate=November 12, 2016}}</ref> |
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===Trump–Biden=== |
===Trump–Biden=== |
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Revision as of 04:41, 14 November 2020
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In the United States, a presidential transition is the process during which the president-elect of the United States prepares to take over the administration of the federal government of the United States from the incumbent president. Though planning for transition can start at any time before a presidential election and in the days following, the transition formally starts when the funds appropriated by Congress are released by the General Services Administration (GSA) following the outcome of the presidential election and continues until inauguration day, when the president-elect takes the oath of office, at which point the powers, immunities, responsibilities etc. of the presidency are legally transferred to the new president.
The 20th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1933, moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4 to January 20, also shortening the transition period. After the election, an outgoing president is commonly referred to as a lame duck president. A transition can also arise intra-term if a president dies, resigns or is removed from office, though the period may be very short.
The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 established the current mechanisms to facilitate an orderly and peaceful transition of power.[1][2] Under existing federal law and custom, the major-party presidential candidates receive classified national security briefings once their nomination is formalized by their party.[3][4] They are also entitled to presidential transition services and facilities provided by the General Services Administration, including office space, equipment and the payment of certain related expenses. Just after the presidential election, a revised edition of the Plum Book is published, which lists over 9,000 federal civil service leadership and support political appointment positions which an incoming administration needs to review, and fill or confirm.[5]
Transition normally involves some pre-election planning, and involves consideration of key personnel from the outgoing and incoming presidents’ staffs, requires resources, and includes a host of activities, such as vetting candidates for positions in the new administration, helping to familiarize the incoming administration with the operations of the executive branch, and developing a comprehensive policy platform.[6]
Presidential Transition Act
The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (Pub. L. 88–277) established the mechanisms to facilitate an orderly and peaceful transition of power.[1][2] The 1963 Act has been amended by the Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 100–398), the Presidential Transition Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106–293 (text) (PDF)), the Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–283 (text) (PDF)) and the Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 114–136 (text) (PDF)).
These laws established formal mechanisms to facilitate presidential transitions. Specifically, the act directs the Administrator of General Services to provide facilities, funding of approximately $5 million, access to government services, support for a transition team, and to provide training and orientation of new government personnel and other procedures to ensure an orderly transition.[6]
The Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act of 2010 requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide potential presidential transition teams with office space.[7][8] They are also eligible for government funding for staff. For example, spending on Mitt Romney's transition team in 2012 was going to be $8.9 million, all funds appropriated by the U.S. government.[8]
The Presidential Transition Act was also amended in 2019 to require the incumbent president to establish "transition councils" by June of an election year to facilitate a possible handover of power.[9][10][11]
Process
For much of U.S. history, presidential transitions were carried out without very much advance planning or even cooperation from the outgoing president. Legally, a president-elect is not required to come to the capital until the inauguration and need not have substantial policy or procedural discussions with the outgoing administration.
President Harry Truman adopted a positive course by extending his hand to President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower after the 1952 election, inviting Eisenhower to the White House and ordering federal agencies to assist with the transition. Eight years later, John F. Kennedy engaged in extensive transition planning on domestic and foreign policy issues, but did not meet with Eisenhower until January 6, 1961, two months after the election.[12]
The transition process begins as leading presidential contenders forming a transition team to start making preliminary plans for building an administration and assuming the presidency should they be elected. This can take place at any time of the candidate's choosing. In 2008, the Obama presidential campaign began informally planning for a possible presidential transition several months before Election Day. Obama's transition team, called the "Obama-Biden Transition Project", analysed prior transition efforts, the workings of federal government agencies, and what priority positions needed to be filled by the incoming administration first.[13] In April 2012, before Mitt Romney became the Republican Party nominee, the Romney presidential campaign began planning for a potential transition. Romney's transition team made extensive plans for the transfer of power, called the "Romney Readiness Project", which also included a legislative agenda for the first 200 days of a Romney administration.[14][15]
During the 2016 presidential election cycle, Donald Trump began assembling his transition team in May, after he became the presumptive Republican nominee. His fall campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton, lagged behind in this regard, not forming a team until August, which was after she became the Democratic Party nominee.[16] Key activities in this pre-election phase include: setting goals for the transition; assembling and organizing the key transition team staff; allocating responsibilities among the team and allocating resources and personnel for each core work stream; developing an overall management work plan to guide the team through the entire transition process; and establishing relationships with Congress, the outgoing administration, General Services Administration, the Office of Government Ethics, the FBI and the Office of Personnel Management to encourage information sharing and to begin the security clearance process for select personnel.[17]
The GSA administrator officially determines the "apparent winner" of a presidential election. If it is not the incumbent president, the winner can access federal agencies and transition funds.[18] The GSA administrator’s declaration releases about $9.9 million in transition funds for salary, support, and computer systems; allow transition officials to establish government email addresses and receive federal office space; and allow the transition team to start work with the Office of Government Ethics on required financial disclosure and conflict-of-interest forms for incoming nominees. [19]
The actual transition phase begins immediately following the presidential election (barring any electoral disputes) when a sitting president is not re-elected or is concluding a second term. In the case of the Obama-Trump transition, on the day after the election, November 9, 2016, outgoing president Barack Obama made a statement from the Rose Garden of the White House in which he announced that he had spoken the previous evening with (apparent election winner) Donald Trump and formally invited him to the White House for discussions to ensure "that there is a successful transition between our presidencies." Obama said he had instructed his staff to "follow the example" of the George W. Bush administration in 2008, who he said could "not have been more professional or more gracious in making sure we had a smooth transition".[20] This phase of the process lasts between 72 and 78 days, ending on the inauguration day. During this time, the transition team must handle the influx of campaign staff and additional personnel into daily operations and prepare to take over the functions of government. Key activities in this phase include staffing the office of the president-elect; deploying agency review teams; building out the president-elect’s management and policy agendas and schedule; and identifying the key talent necessary to execute the new president’s priorities.[17]
Noteworthy transitions
 |
Presidential transitions have existed in one form or another since 1797, when George Washington handed over the presidency to John Adams. Some have gone smoothly, many have been bumpy and a few verged on catastrophic.[21]
Buchanan–Lincoln
During the 1860–61 transition from James Buchanan to Abraham Lincoln (November 6, 1860 to March 4, 1861), seven states seceded in February. Buchanan held the opinion that states did not have the right to secede, but that it was also illegal for the federal government to go to war to stop them. Buchanan peacefully transferred power to Lincoln on March 4, 1861. The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, just a month after Lincoln took office.
Grant–Hayes
In the 1876 election, there were disputes regarding 20 electoral votes in four states, along with multiple allegations of vote fraud. This made it unclear who would take the office of president on inauguration day. This constitutional crisis was resolved only two days before the scheduled inauguration through the Compromise of 1877 under which federal troops were withdrawn from the South, and the Reconstruction Era was brought to an end.
Hoover–Roosevelt
The 1932–33 transition (November 8, 1932 to March 4, 1933) from Herbert Hoover to Franklin D. Roosevelt was during the Great Depression. After the election, Roosevelt refused Hoover's requests for a meeting to come up with a joint program to stop the crisis and calm investors, claiming it would limit his options, and as this "guaranteed that Roosevelt took the oath of office amid such an atmosphere of crisis that Hoover had become the most hated man in America".[22] During this period, the U.S. economy suffered after thousands of banks failed.[23] The relationship between Hoover and Roosevelt was one of the most strained between Presidents. While Hoover had little good to say about his successor, there was little he could do. FDR, however, supposedly could and did engage in various spiteful official acts aimed at his predecessor, ranging from dropping him from the White House birthday greetings message list to having Hoover's name struck from the Hoover Dam along the Colorado River border, which would officially be known only as Boulder Dam until 1947.
Clinton–Bush
The 2000-01 transition from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush was shortened by several weeks due to the Florida recount crisis that ended after the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Bush v. Gore, which made Bush the president-elect.
On a more malicious level, it was marred by accusations of "damage, theft, vandalism and pranks". The General Accounting Office (GAO) estimated the cost of those pranks at $13,000 to $14,000. They included graffiti in the men's bathroom at the White House, glue smeared on desk drawers, and missing doorknobs, medallions, and office signs. However, they note that similar pranks were reported in prior transitions, including the one from Bush's father to Clinton in 1993.[24] Press secretary Ari Fleischer followed up the GAO report with a White House-produced list of alleged vandalism including removal of the 'W' key from keyboards.[25] The Clintons were also accused of keeping for themselves gifts meant for the White House.[26] The Clintons denied the accusations, but agreed to pay more than $85,000 for gifts given to the first family "to eliminate even the slightest question" of impropriety.[27]
Bush–Obama
The 2008-09 transition from Bush to Barack Obama was considered seamless, with Bush granting Obama's request to ask Congress to release $350 billion of bank bailout funds.[28] At the start of his inaugural speech, Obama praised Bush "for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition".[29] The White House website was redesigned and “cut over” at exactly 12:01pm, January 20, 2009. This was described by some as a "new inaugural tradition spawned by the Internet-age".[30] Additionally, the information system was provided to the Obama administration without a single electronic record from the previous administration. Not only were emails and photos removed from the environment at the 12:01pm threshold, data elements like phone numbers of individual offices and upcoming meetings for the senior staff were also removed.[citation needed] Nonetheless, by April 2012, the Bush administration had transferred electronic records for the presidential components within the Executive Office of the President to the National Archives and Records Administration. Included in these records was more than 80 terabytes of data, more than 200 million emails and 4 million photos.[31]
Obama–Trump
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On the evening of November 8, 2016, the day of the presidential election, outgoing president Barack Obama spoke with presumptive winner Donald Trump and formally invited him to the White House for November 10, for discussions to ensure "that there is a successful transition between our presidencies".
Early on November 9, media outlets projected Trump would secure enough votes in the Electoral College to win the presidential election, and Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton conceded the election to him later that day.[32] Also on November 9, the acting GSA Administrator issued the "ascertainment letter” to officially designate Trump president-elect,[33] and the transition team was provided office space and were also eligible for government funding for staff. Also on November 9, Trump and Mike Pence were offered the full President's Daily Brief, with the first briefing taking place on November 15.[34][35] The Trump transition website was launched on November 9.[36]
The Trump transition team was led by Vice President-elect Mike Pence and had six vice-chairs: former transition head Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Newt Gingrich, Michael Flynn, Rudy Giuliani and Jeff Sessions.[37]
Trump–Biden
Incumbent president Donald Trump claimed victory in the 2020 presidential election on Election Day, November 3, a claim which was very widely disregarded. He also demanded all further vote counting cease, a demand also ignored. Trump also alleged widespread fraud, corruption and other misconduct, without providing any evidence and which have been almost universally denied. He has commenced multiple lawsuits in multiple states seeking a halt to counting, rejection of votes, preventing certification of results, besides other remedies, all of which have been dismissed as of November 12.[38] On November 13, for the first time and without any evidence, Trump claimed that 2.7 million votes were “deleted” by the digital voting system used in some states, and said votes were switched from him to Joe Biden.[39][40]
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate for the election, was the predicted winner by the media on November 7, 2020, prior to any state elections being certified.[41] International media subsequently reported the same prediction,[42] and over the next 24 hours world leaders congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their election.[43][44] The GSA Administrator, Emily Murphy, a Trump appointee, has refused to issue the "ascertainment" letter declaring Biden the "apparent winner", on the basis that the election result was disputed. The declaration would mark the official start of the transition, and withholding it denies funds, office space, and access to agencies to the Biden transition team.[45][46] (Following the previous 2016 presidential election, the acting GSA administrator issued the "ascertainment" letter on Nov 9th.[33]) As of November 12, the letter had still not been issued.[47] Biden has also been denied daily classified national security briefings.[48]
List of presidential transitions
See also
- Contingent election, procedure used in U.S. presidential elections in cases where no candidate wins an absolute majority of votes in the Electoral College
- Midnight regulations, rules created by an outgoing administration before it leaves office
References
- ^ a b "Presidential Transition Act of 1963". U.S. General Services Administration. March 7, 1964. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the General Services Administration.
- ^ a b MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES}
- ^ Gazis, Olivia; Erickson, Bo; Segers, Grace (September 18, 2020). "Biden receives first classified intelligence briefing". CBS News. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ Berman, Russell (March 1, 2016). "Congress Tells Obama to Start Planning His Departure". =The Atlantic. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ GSA, Plum Book
- ^ a b Halchin, L. Elaine (November 16, 2016). "Presidential Transitions: Issues Involving Outgoing and Incoming Administrations" (PDF). crs.gov. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved January 8, 2017. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Congressional Research Service.
- ^ Parker, Ashley (August 16, 2012). "Campaigning Aside, Team Plans a Romney Presidency". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
- ^ a b Fund, John (January 13, 2013). "What was Romney Planning?". National Review. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
- ^ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/M-20-24.pdf
- ^ "Trump Administration Details Efforts to Support Peaceful Presidential Transition". Government Executive. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ Center for Presidential Transition. "Center for Presidential Transition". Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- ^ "Ready to Govern: Improving the Presidential Transition". Partnership for Public Service. January 2010. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- ^ Sweet, Lynn (November 5, 2008). "Jarrett, Podesta, Rouse to lead Obama transition; Bill Daley co-chair". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
- ^ Allen, Jonathan; Allen, Mike (October 25, 2012). "How Mitt Romney would govern". politico.com/. Politico. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- ^ Hicken, Jackie (May 29, 2013). "Blueprint outlines work former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, others did to prepare for President Romney". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- ^ Karni, Annie (August 16, 2016). "Salazar to lead Clinton's transition team". Politico. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- ^ a b "Presidential Transition Guide" (PDF). Center For Presidential Transition. January 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Thompson, Alex; Cassella, Megan; Mir, Alice; Ollstein, A.; Meyer, Theodoric; Lippman, Daniel (November 7, 2020). "Meet Washington's most powerful woman (temporarily)". POLITICO. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- ^ Lisa Rein, Jonathan O'Connell & Josh Dawsey, A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn't budging Archived November 9, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post (November 8, 2020).
- ^ "President Obama Delivers a Statement". youtube.com/thewhitehouse. The White House. Retrieved November 9, 2016. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the White House.
- ^ "Notable presidential transitions". Chicago Tribune. December 2, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ Gibbs, Nancy (November 10, 2008). "When New President Meets Old, It's Not Always Pretty". TIME.
- ^ Rudney, Robert. "Lessons Learned from the 1932–1933 Presidential Transition". www.commondreams.org. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- ^ Pear, Robert (June 12, 2002). "White House Vandalized In Transition, G.A.O. Finds". The New York Times.
- ^ Evans, Mike (June 3, 2001). "Bush aide details alleged Clinton staff vandalism". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 10, 2001.
- ^ "Gifts Were Not Meant for Clintons, Some Donors Say". The Washington Post. February 5, 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
- ^ "Tripp: I was told not to record White House gifts". CNN. February 9, 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Subscribers, Attention Print Newspaper. "NP Story" – via National Post.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url=requires|archive-date=(help) - ^ Jim Puzzanghera (January 20, 2009). "On White House Website, Change Is Already Evident". Courant.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ https://www.archives.gov/era/acera/presentations/bush-elec-records.ppt.
- ^ "Highlights of Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech and President Obama's Remarks". The New York Times. November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- ^ a b Shear, Michael D.; Haberman, Maggie; Crowley, Michael (November 10, 2020). "Trump Appointee Stands Between Biden's Team and a Smooth Transition". New York Times.
- ^ "The Latest: FAA imposes restrictions over Trump Tower". WKOW-TV. November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
- ^ Acosta, Jim (November 15, 2016). "Trump receives first President's Daily Brief". CNN. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ^ "45". Politico. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
- ^ Thrush, Glenn; Nelson, Louis (November 11, 2016). "Pence to take over Trump's transition effort from Christie". Politico. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ^ Trump lawyers suffer embarrassing rebukes from judges over voter fraud claims
- ^ Trump claims millions of his votes were ‘deleted’ by election system
- ^ 'Most secure in history': Security agencies refute Trump's election fraud claims
- ^ https://www.kgncnewsnow.com/mcconnell-no-states-have-yet-certified-presidential-election/
- ^ Template:‘Mission impossible’, ‘huge relief’ and a ‘bittersweet victory’: World media reacts to Biden win
- ^ Template:Title=World leaders congratulate Joe Biden on his victory
- ^ "Joe Biden wins White House race: How the world reacted". AlJazeera.
- ^ Rein, Lisa; O'Connell, Jonathan; Dawsey, Josh. "A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn't budging". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ Biden camp calls for GSA to recognize election victory to begin transition
- ^ https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/live-updates/?id=74125618&cid=clicksource_4380645_1_heads_hero_live_hero_related
- ^ https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/biden-to-bring-in-national-security-experts-after-briefings-denied-649056
