After a long delay, President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team signed a memorandum of understanding with the White House, allowing the next administration to coordinate with federal agencies.
Susie Wiles, Trump’s new White House chief of staff, said in a statement that the signing of the memorandum allowed “critical preparations” to begin.
“After completing the selection process for his incoming Cabinet, President-elect Trump enters the next phase of his administration’s transition by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the White House of President Joe Biden,” Wiles said in a statement.
The agreement allows the incoming administration to initiate presidential transitions that give it access to resources provided by the federal government, such as personnel and documents related to federal agencies.
During the campaign, Trump’s team missed the Oct. 1 deadline to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the White House. He also missed a Sept. 1 deadline to strike a similar deal with the General Services Administration.
Trump’s missed deadlines have drawn sharp criticism from former officials, ethics experts and lawmakers.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, sounded the alarm over Trump’s reluctance to join the accords in October. NBC News previously reported Raskin sent a letter to Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, warning that failure to reach a deal could jeopardize a smooth and peaceful transition of power.
Trump’s team is “breaking the precedent set by every other presidential candidate since 2010” by not accepting resources provided by the federal government, Raskin wrote.
Trump’s team said they are not signing a contract with the General Services Administration, but instead will provide additional resources, including funding and office space, to help them transition to operating as a “self-sustaining organization.”
White House spokeswoman Saloni Sharma said the White House and GSA have, as is customary, repeatedly approached Trump’s team since September to sign both memos. Sharma said the White House disagreed with Trump’s failure to sign the GSA memorandum, but would facilitate a smooth transition as “the responsible course and in the best interest of the American people.”
“While we disagree with the Trump transition team’s decision to refuse to sign the GSA Memorandum, we will abide by the intent of the Presidential Transition Act, which makes clear” that “any disruption to the transfer of executive authority could have harmful consequences for the state.” The security and well-being of the United States and its people,” Sharma said.
The agreement with the White House stated that Trump must publicly post his ethics plan for the transition team on the GSA website.
It was that document loaded Tuesday evening and followed the standard pattern for such agreements, including pledging to avoid conflicts of interest and protecting confidential and nonpublic information.
White House officials also said Trump’s team has not signed an agreement with the Justice Department that would allow the FBI to conduct background checks on Cabinet nominees. flash point Among lawmakers since Trump began making his picks to lead federal agencies.
Trump’s transition team and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday evening.