Trump’s cabinet is opting for a ‘standoff’ with the Biden White House that could destroy a smooth transfer of power
Donald Trump completed his Cabinet and top positions in the White House this weekend, but his team still must sign the ethics and transparency agreements the federal government needs for a traditional transition.
A Trump spokesperson said they continue to “work constructively” with the Biden-Harris administration, but watchdogs warn delays could cause problems next year as the new team takes charge.
It means the basics of the transition can’t begin yet, such as deploying “landing teams” of appointees to the department or even requesting FBI background checks for nominees.
Three senators sounded the alarm Politicssaying this could prevent key nominees from being confirmed.
“If there is a lack of proper research on a nominee, I don’t think (the Senate Armed Services Committee) would allow the nomination,” Sen. Tim Kaine, a senior Democratic member of the panel, told the website. .
Trump moved quickly to appoint his Cabinet, drawing positive comparisons to 2016, when no one expected him to win.
However, other aspects of the transition have stalled. He has yet to work with the White House Correspondents Association on setting up a transition pool of reporters to cover his events.
And its senior figures have yet to sign government agreements allowing them to work with agencies.
Since winning the election, Donald Trump has holed up in Mar-a-Lago, where he has built his government. He is seen here with House Speaker Mike Johnson
Trump chose RFK Jr. as head of Health and Human Services, but his advisers were rebuffed in their attempts to coordinate with the department
It means that when advisors to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. contacted the Department of Health and Human Services after he was appointed to lead the massive organization, their requests for meetings were reportedly denied.
It does not give Trump access to anything that is not public, such as classified national security information, details of US involvement in conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as conversations with allies.
The team also cannot use secure government servers for communications.
None of that worries Trump and his team at Mar-a-Lago.
“He picked his cabinet in record time,” said a source familiar with the thinking. “This is all going exactly the way he wants it.”
But Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Center for Presidential Transition at the Partnership for Public Service, said there is no precedent for a transition without signing the usual memoranda of understanding.
“The most important thing it says is that the members of the transition team will be bound by an ethics agreement that ensures that they use information appropriately, that they limit the use of lobbyists and foreign agents, and that individuals who leave the transition and returning to the private sector, will not use this information for personal gain,” she told Politico.
It’s a contrast to 2016, when Trump’s team signed all the paperwork before Election Day, as Joe Biden did in 2020, and Kamala Harris did this time.
Trump transition spokesman Brian Hughes said: “The Trump-Vance transition attorneys continue to work constructively with the Biden-Harris administration attorneys on all agreements contemplated in the Presidential Transition Act.
“We will keep you informed once a decision has been made.”