President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team have signed a memo of understanding that allows it to coordinate with the Biden White House and gain critical information from agency heads before the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Mr. Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, announced the signing Tuesday after weeks of concern about a delay in starting the process.
“After completing the selection process of his incoming Cabinet, President-elect Trump is entering the next phase of his administration’s transition by executing a Memorandum of Understanding with President Joe Biden’s White House,” Ms. Wiles said. “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.”
Ms. Wiles characterized the transition as a “self-sufficient” organization that will not use taxpayer money or buildings provided by the General Services Administration.
She said the transition would abide by ethics rules and disclose its donors to the public. It will not accept foreign donations, she said.
Prominent Democrats, notably Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, had accused Mr. Trump of slow-walking the memos needed to start the transition in earnest. She said the delay would postpone necessary background checks of incoming employees and could put the nation at risk.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Trump Transition
“If the new president and the new administration are not ready to govern on their first day in office, our nation’s adversaries may well see and take advantage of the situation,” Ms. Warren said in a letter to GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan.
“This risk is not hypothetical,” she wrote. “For example, the 9/11 Commission found that the delayed transition following the contested 2000 election hampered the preparations for President George W. Bush’s national security team and may have contributed to the 9/11 attack.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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