Biden Administration Initiates Presidential Transition Planning

The Biden administration has commenced preparations for a potential presidential transition following the November general election, emphasizing continuity of government irrespective of the election outcome.

Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, issued memos to executive departments and agencies instructing them to designate a transition planning point person by May 3. This directive marks the initial procedural step in congressional-mandated readiness for presidential transitions.

Next week, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, who led Biden’s 2020 transition effort, will convene the inaugural meeting of the White House Transition Coordinating Council. This council comprises senior White House policy, national security, and management officials, as mandated by the Presidential Transition Act.

The act aims to provide federal support for major party candidates to prepare for governance, ensuring that they can swiftly implement policy actions upon assuming office. The significance of candidate preparedness for federal governance heightened after the Sept. 11 attacks, leading to multiple updates to the act that enhance resources for candidates and mandate incumbents to intensify transition planning.

Young’s recent correspondence closely resembles the letter sent four years ago by Russell Vought, the Trump administration’s acting director, to initiate the transition process. However, the 2020 transition faced disruptions when former President Donald Trump delayed conceding his defeat to Biden. It wasn’t until Nov. 23, two weeks after the election was called, that Trump’s General Services Administration acknowledged Biden as the “apparent winner,” a pivotal step to initiate the transition.

Under the law, presidential candidates and the General Services Administration must finalize a memorandum of understanding by Sept. 1, which governs federal office space provision and access to sensitive documents. Transition teams have already commenced vetting potential appointees and initiating the security clearance process for likely appointees who will assume roles on Inauguration Day.

Additionally, in February, Biden established a task force to address classified information mishandling during presidential transitions, in response to a Justice Department special counsel’s report that was critical of him and his aides for similar issues when leaving the vice presidency in 2016.

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS