Trump Transition Team Sidesteps Ethics Protocols, Raising Concerns over Transparency and Vetting.
As the transfer of power looms in the United States, President-elect Donald Trump‘s transition team has drawn criticism for sidestepping key agreements that would have required greater donor disclosures and vetting for his government appointments.
In a memorandum of understanding signed with the outgoing Biden administration on Tuesday, the Trump team has notably avoided commitments that have been a standard part of presidential transitions in the past.
One such agreement, typically signed with the Department of Justice, would have authorized FBI background checks for Trump’s government nominees.
Another, with the General Services Administration (GSA), would have mandated that any donations to the transition effort be capped at $5,000 and publicly disclosed.
However, the Trump team has opted to forgo these established protocols, instead choosing to publish its own ethics plan and abide by its own set of rules.
“The transition already has existing security and information protections built in, which means we will not require additional government and bureaucratic oversight,” said Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, in a statement.
Wiles framed the decision as a matter of “organizational autonomy” and a way to avoid “taxpayer funding for costs related to the transition.” But the move has raised concerns among observers about the lack of transparency and rigorous vetting that has traditionally been a hallmark of presidential transitions.
The White House spokesperson, Saloni Sharma, acknowledged that the Biden administration did not agree with the Trump team’s decision to discard some of the usual protocols. However, Sharma signaled that the Biden officials would forge ahead with the transition process to avoid further delays.
The memorandum of understanding signed on Tuesday does pave the way for the Joe Biden and Trump teams to engage in critical preparations, including the deployment of “landing teams” to every government department and agency.
But the absence of the standard ethical and security checks has raised eyebrows, particularly in light of Trump’s past controversies surrounding potential conflicts of interest and his administration’s reputation for unconventional approaches to governance.
