Trump's previous refusal to provide transition assistance poses a “real risk” to the continuity of government

Former President Donald Trump's campaign failed to meet deadlines for accepting federal government support to prepare for a transition if he won, potentially making a change in administration even more stressful for federal employees.

Each campaign is expected to complete a memorandum of understanding on transition assistance with the General Services Administration by September 1 and with the White House by October 1. The GSA agreement includes office space and information technology support, while the White House agreement includes transition staff access to federal agency facilities, documents and employees.

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign reached an agreement with the GSA on September 19, nearly three weeks late, a Biden administration official said Government Executive in a statement that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with Harris, although such a document has not yet been made public. However, her campaign's accompanying ethics plan was released to members of the transition team.

The official said the federal transition coordinator is “actively working with the Trump transition team to finalize a memorandum of understanding.” A GSA spokesperson said the agency is “ready to begin providing services to the Trump transition team as soon as a memorandum of understanding is signed.”

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment but previously said so Government Executive that it continues to “evaluate and communicate with GSA the options related to the support offered by the GSA.”

It would be a challenge for the White House to finalize the second agreement with Trump without him signing the GSA document, since that agency provides secure networks and .gov email addresses that allow federal employees to securely share information exchange with verified people.

“(Agencies) have to plan. There's a lot of investment going on, so the uncertainty of not having those memorandums of understanding in place is a real challenge for them,” said Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, at a press conference on Monday. “There will be a lot of work that needs to be done… investing early is critical to getting it done and not putting more strain on career civil servants.”

PPS, a nonpartisan good government group, runs a Center for Presidential Transition, which assists campaigns and agencies with administration changes.

Valerie Smith Boyd, who directs the PPS Center for Presidential Transition, said the agreement with the White House is necessary so the new administration can gain access to the agencies it will manage.

“We each have a president. The federal authorities are part of the current administration. And in order for federal agencies to share information and meet with a president-elect, it's important to set the conditions for where that happens (and) what kind of high-level information can be shared,” she said.

While the memorandums of understanding are optional, Stier argued that they are “optional and involve real risk.”

“When you say 'we don't trust the government,' that's a problem because when you run it, at the end of the day you have to trust it,” he said. “There may be things that worry you, but you have to get involved, and if you don't get involved, that really puts our country in danger.”

Boyd emphasized that other aspects of transition planning are moving forward.

The White House established the Transition Coordinating Council, made up of senior Biden administration officials. Both campaigns have named individuals to lead their transition teams. And each agency has appointed a career senior executive service employee as interim director.

Eric Katz contributed to this report.