Trump transition team signs most transition documents

For the last week or so, the media has been all over Trump for not having signed the transition documents for the administration to change hands.  

For the most part, Trump finally took care of that, but there are still some documents that remain unsigned, and this is creating panic in the media and among Democrats.  

The Transition 

According to the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, there are very specific tasks that must be completed during the process of changing over to a new administration.  

The timeline created for this begins about 12 months before the election and moves forward.  

The transition is overseen by the General Services Administration (GSA), which produces the report summarizing all actions taken regarding the peaceful transition of power after an election as well as supplying support and assets for the incoming administration. 

The documents regarding the transition are generally signed very soon after the election, but Trump has broken precedent on this front, and the media is eating it up.  

Some Documents Signed 

Donald Trump’s incoming Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, announced that some of the necessary documents have already been signed.  

She stated, "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. 

"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." 

Unlike previous administrations, however, Wiles noted that the transition will "operate as a self-sufficient organization" in a "streamlined" manner. 

No GSA 

The controversy here is that Trump is refusing to sign the agreement with the GSA, hence the disclaimer by Wiles that the transition will be operated as a self-sufficient organization. This could delay security clearances being secured for Trump’s officials.  

A Justice Department spokesperson addressed this, stating, "To date, the DOJ MOU is not signed but progress has been made towards an agreement. 

"The Department of Justice is ready to process requests for security clearances for those who will need access briefing materials and national security information once the MOU is signed, which we hope will happen very soon." 

The media and Trump’s critics are already claiming that with Trump eliminating the GSA from the equation, he is more likely to be hacked, creating an unnecessary national security risk. For all of our sakes, I hope the Trump team gets this one right.