Harris Reaches Agreement on Transition Planning with Biden Administration, No Word on Trump Yet
- Published In: Politics
- Last Updated: Sep 24, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
By ZEKE MILLER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ transition team has reached an agreement with the General Services Administration to accept pre-election support from the federal government to prepare for her potential presidency.
The agency, which is required by law to offer office space, technology support and other resources to major party nominees, posted the agreement to its website on Monday. The signed memorandum, which governs IT, record-keeping and ethics policies, is dated Sept. 19.
There was no word on whether former President Donald Trump’s team would reach an agreement before Election Day. But the agency said it was prepared to provide services to the Trump transition team once an agreement is executed and services are accepted.
Transition planning is well under way across the federal government in advance of the Jan. 20, 2025 handoff by President Joe Biden to Trump or Harris.
Last week, Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zientshosted a meeting of the White House Transition Coordinating Committee — the government’s senior-most transition planning group — and for the first time this year included Harris and Trump representatives. And agencies are preparing detailed briefing memos on their activities to share with the eventual winner’s team.
Teams of federal agents and government workers from the FBI and intelligence community — including some hired back from retirement — are at the ready to vet hundreds of potential transition staff and administration appointees.
The Presidential Transition Act requires that nominees first reach a memorandum of understanding with GSA before being granted access to federal planning resources. It requires the transition teams to agree to an ethics plan, and transition teams must disclose donors and limit contributions to $5,000 as a condition of receiving government funds.
Trump campaign senior advisor Brian Hughes said in a statement that “The Trump-Vance Transition continues to evaluate and communicate with GSA about the options related to the support offered by GSA.”
