As Trump’s teams get set to deploy to agencies, concerns remain over his transition approach

President-elect Trump is readying staff to deploy to federal agencies throughout government, though the current administration and others are raising concerns that his new agreement still falls short of the steps necessary to protect taxpayers and good governance. 

After an extended standoff in which Trump refused to sign memoranda of understanding with various parts of the Biden administration, the former and future president last week reached an agreement with the White House that will allow his landing teams to physically enter federal offices. That will allow them to meet with assigned career senior executive staff, receive already drafted briefings on agency activities and begin the process of exchanging information about existing projects and future priorities.

Trump is still refusing to sign an MOU with the General Services Administration, however, meaning his transition team will not have its own, central government office space nor will it have access to IT services such as official .gov email addresses. 

“While we do not agree with the Trump transition team’s decision to forgo signing the GSA MOU,” said Saloni Sharma, a White House spokesperson, “we will follow the purpose of the Presidential Transition Act which clearly states that ‘any disruption occasioned by the transfer of the executive power could produce results detrimental to the safety and wellbeing of the United States and its people.’” 

In his announcement, Trump's transition team noted it will not utilize the taxpayer funds set aside for transition activities. It is also skipping many steps embedded in transition law. His team will forgo an ethics agreement with GSA, instead relying on agreements it set up internally that is now posted to GSA’s website. The president-elect’s team will utilize “existing security and information protections,” which it said would eliminate the need for “additional government and bureaucratic oversight.”

Transition teams typically sign an additional MOU with the Justice Department so the FBI can conduct background checks on potential nominees. Trump has so far sidestepped that process as well. Wyn Hornbuckle, a DOJ spokesperson, said discussions are ongoing regarding that agreement. White House officials noted Justice is ready to provide its screening services and progress has been made toward an agreement. 

While the Trump team’s ethics agreements are now publicly available on GSA’s website, the transition has yet to commit to engaging with the Office of Government Ethics to resolve potential conflicts of interest with its announced nominees. Trump's transition and OGE did not respond to requests for comment. 

Sharma said the Biden administration faced two options: insisting Trump follow all aspects of transition law, which would have resulted in no transition at all, or to conducting a smooth transition with as many safeguards in place as possible. 

“Option two is the responsible course and in the best interest of the American people,” Sharma said. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who wrote a bill enhancing ethics oversight during presidential transitions that Trump signed into law in 2020 and has raised concerns about Trump’s approach over the last month, said the president-elect’s new White House agreement did not allay her uneasiness. 

“This announcement fails to answer key questions about national security threats and FBI vetting of nominees, and increases concerns about corruption,” Warren said. “There appear to be serious gaps between the Trump transition’s ethics agreement and the letter of the law.”

She added the refusal to take federal appropriations set aside for the transition would allow Trump insiders to peddle influence and “line their pockets while pretending to save taxpayers money.” 

Agencies throughout government are prepared and waiting for Trump’s teams, having completed their briefing materials before the election and designated career staff to aid the landing teams.

The Trump team committed to disclose who is deploying to agencies or will otherwise have access to government information. Agencies will confirm any individuals requesting access to classified information have a "requisite need to know," have signed non-disclosure agreements and hold the appropriate security clearances, White House officials said. 

They added Trump transition team members must sign a statement that they will not benefit financially from information they learn during the transition process. 

The White House will provide guidance to agencies on best practices for sharing secure information and remind them they can opt to only offer in-person briefings and access to reading rooms in agency spaces. Since Trump’s personnel will not have .gov email addresses, the Biden administration will also instruct agencies they may require transition team members to affirm that their non-government technology complies with government security standards. 

The Trump-Vance transition said its landing teams will “quickly integrate directly into federal agencies and departments with access to documents and policy sharing.” 

Max Stier, president of the Partnership of Public Service, which houses the Center for Presidential Transition, who had sharply criticized Trump’s team for previously refusing to commence official transition efforts, said even the more limited agreement would help ensure a better process.

“The signing of this agreement is good news, and a positive step toward an effective transfer of power,” Stier said. “This agreement unlocks direct access to information from federal agencies, which is vital for the incoming administration to be ready to govern on day one and critical to the transition’s success.”

Sharma emphasized that Trump will take office on Jan. 20 and it is incumbent on the current administration to help him prepare. 

“They will immediately be responsible for a range of domestic and global challenges, foreseen and unforeseen,” Sharma said. “A smooth transition is critical to the safety and security of the American people who are counting on their leaders to be responsible and prepared.”