WASHINGTON – Two days before a key meeting with President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump has not yet signed the necessary documents to unlock resources for a glossy transfer of power from one presidential administration to another.
Trump’s transition spokesman, Brian Hughes, told States Newsroom on Monday that “Trump’s Vance transition lawyers continue to work constructively with Biden-Harris administration lawyers on all agreements under the Presidential Transition Act.”
“We will let you know when a decision is made,” Hughes said in a statement.
According to his public schedule, Biden will host Trump at the White House delayed Wednesday morning.
One of contracts the agreement in question includes a memorandum of understanding between the Trump-Vance transition and the U.S. General Services Administration for office space, information technology services and human resources assistance, as set forth in the 2010 update of the agreement. Presidential Transition Act of 1963.
The services are available to the president-elect and major presidential candidates after nominating conventions, but come with financial disclosure requirements and a $5,000 contribution limit for transition-related donations from any person or organization.
The second is a memorandum of understanding with the White House, negotiated by the sitting and incoming president, to establish an ethics plan for transition team members and information sharing, including national security issues. The deadline expired on October 1.
It insisted on a “peaceful and orderly” transition
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday that Chief of Staff Jeff Zients had contacted Trump-Vance transition team co-chairs Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick, major campaign donors.
“So we will keep that line of communication open. We will be helpful here. We want an effective and capable transfer of power,” Jean-Pierre said.
Biden he said on Thursday from the White House Rose Garden that the American people deserve a “peaceful and orderly transition.”
There are interim memorandums available online, and the public can read the agreements filed in September by Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate who ultimately lost to Trump.
Raskin calls on Trump to act
Democrat Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee, urged Trump during the October campaign to complete the paperwork.
“By breaking the precedent set by every other presidential candidate since 2010, you have discarded these resources and refused to commit to a smooth transition,” Raskin wrote in the Oct. 23 letter. letter.
The Maryland Democrat surmised in her letter that the Trump team’s filing backlog “may be due, at least in part,” to an attempt to circumvent financial disclosure laws and restrictions.
“With less than three weeks left until the election in which the American people will choose a new President of the United States, I urge you to place the public interest in maintaining a properly functioning government above any personal financial or political interests you may have in it” boycott official law and the transition process,” Raskin wrote.
In February 2021, the Biden-Harris administration filed a 1,021-page request for transition-related donations and expenses disclosure.
Last updated: 17:25, November 11, 2024
