Planning for possible presidential transition underway as Biden administration launches it

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe BidenThe country’s administration officially began planning for a possible presidential transition on Friday, with the aim of ensuring continuity of government regardless of the outcome of November’s general elections.

Young Shalandathe director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent memos to all executive departments and agencies, asking them to appoint a person responsible for transition planning by May 3. This is the first routine step in the congressionally mandated preparation for presidential transitions.

Next week, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients — who also chaired Biden’s 2020 transition effort — will lead the first meeting of the White House Transition Coordination Council, made up of senior officials policy, national security, and management of the White House, as required by the Presidential Transition Act.

The law provides federal support for major party candidates to prepare to govern so they can have the personnel needed to take policy action on their first day in office. Ensuring that presidential candidates are prepared to lead the federal government became an increased priority after the September 11 attacks, and the law has been updated several times since to provide additional resources for candidates and to require incumbents to plan a transfer of responsibility with even greater intensity.

Young’s letter is nearly identical to one sent four years ago by the Trump administration’s acting director, Russell Vought, for a transition process that began in an orderly manner, but derailed when then-President Donald Trump refused to acknowledge his defeat to Biden. It took until November 23, two weeks after the election was called, for Trump’s General Services Administration to name Biden the “apparent winner” of the 2020 race — a necessary step for the transition to begin.

The law requires presidential candidates and the General Services Administration to enter into a memorandum of understanding that governs everything from the provision of federal office space to access to sensitive documents by the 1st September, although this agreement is often concluded earlier. Candidates must first formally secure their party’s nomination at their convention before the memorandum of understanding can be signed.

Transition teams are beginning to screen candidates for positions in a future administration, including beginning the lengthy security clearance process for potential appointees who must be ready to take office on Inauguration Day .

Biden launched a separate task force in February aimed at addressing the “systemic” problem of mishandling classified information during presidential transitions, days after a Justice Department special counsel’s report said he and his aides did just that when he left the vice presidency in 2007. 2016.