United States presidential transition

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A presidential transition or presidential interregnum refers to the period of time between the end of a presidential election and the inauguration of a new President of a country. During this time the incoming President usually designates new government personnel, including selecting new Cabinet positions and government department or agency heads.

In the United States, during a presidential transition, the outgoing "lame duck" President has lost many of the intangible benefits of a Presidency (e.g., being perceived as the default leader on issues of national importance) but the incoming President-elect is not yet legally empowered to affect policy. This ambiguity in the roles of the President-elect and outgoing President creates the potential for a leadership vacuum, which may be most acutely felt during wartime or times of economic crisis.

The Presidential transition process for the United States culminates with the mostly ceremonial Presidential inauguration. The period leading up to the date and time of the inauguration provides time for agencies to consolidate and prepare for the transfer of both Federal and Presidential records to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). NARA's mission for the American Presidency is to "preserve" and "present" Presidential records for historic purposes.^[1][2]

Notable transitions

Perhaps the most known transition in US history was the 1860-1861 transition from the administration of James Buchanan to that of Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan held the opinion that states did not have the right to secede, but that it was also illegal for the Federal government to go to war to stop them. Between the election on November 6, 1860 and inauguration on March 4, 1861, seven states seceded and conflict between secessionist and federal forces began, leading to the American Civil War between the Northern and Southern states.

The Presidential transition period at the end of the administration of Herbert Hoover, prior to the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt (November 8, 1932 — March 4, 1933) was a difficult transition period. After the election, Roosevelt refused Hoover's requests for a meeting to come up with a joint program to stop the downward spiral and calm investors, claiming it would tie his hands, and as this "guaranteed that Roosevelt took the oath of office amid such an atmosphere of crisis that Hoover had become the most hated man in America".^[3] During this period of essentially leaderless government, the U.S. economy ground to a halt as thousands of banks failed.^[4] The relationship between Hoover and Roosevelt was one of the most strained between Presidents. While Hoover had little good to say about his successor, there was little he could do. FDR, however, supposedly could and did engage in various petty official acts aimed at his predecessor, ranging from dropping him from the White House birthday greetings message list to having Hoover's name struck from the Hoover Dam along the Colorado River border, which would officially be known only as Boulder Dam for many years to come.

On a more petty level, the transition between Bill Clinton and George W. Bush was marred by accusations of "damage, theft, vandalism and pranks". The General Accounting Office (GAO) estimated the cost of those pranks at $13,000 to $14,000. However, they note that similar pranks were reported in prior transitions, including the one from Bush's father to Clinton in 1993.^[5] Press secretary Ari Fleischer followed up the GAO report with a White House-produced list of alleged vandalism including removal of the W key from keyboards.^[6] The Clintons were also accused of keeping for themselves gifts meant for the White House.^[7] The Clintons denied the accusations, but agreed to pay more than $85,000 for gifts given to the first family "to eliminate even the slightest question" of impropriety.^[8]

The transition between Bush and Barack Obama was considered seamless, with Bush granting Obama's request to ask Congress to release $350 billion of bank bailout funds.^[9] At the start of his inaugural speech, Obama praised Bush "for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition".^[10]

The White House website was redesigned and “cut over” at exactly 12:01pm, January 20, 2009. In addition to the January 20th 2009 at 12:01pm threshold, the Bush Administration successfully transferred all electronic records for the Presidential components within the Executive Office of the President to the NARA. Included in these records was more than 80 Terabytes of data, more than 200 million emails and 4 million photos.^[11] Just as important however, the Information system was provided to the Obama administration without a single electronic record from the previous administration. Not only were emails and photos removed from the environment at the 12:01pm threshold, data elements like phone numbers of individual offices and upcoming meetings for the senior staff were also removed. This was described by some as a "new inaugural tradition spawned by the Internet-age".^[12]

Process

In the United States, the presidential transition extends from the day of the US presidential election (which occurs in November), until the 20th day of January as specified in the Twentieth Amendment. The presidential transition is regulated by The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (P.L. 88-277),^[13] amended by The Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act of 1998 (P.L. 100-398) ^[14] and The Presidential Transition Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-293).^[15][16] The Act as amended directs the Administrator of General Services to provide facilities, funding of approximately five million dollars, access to government services, and support for a transition team, and to provide training and orientation of new government personnel and other procedures to ensure an orderly transition.

The President-elect will also usually appoint a 'presidential transition team' (sometimes even before the presidential election) to prepare for a smooth transfer of power following the presidential inauguration.

List of US presidential transitions

See also

• Midnight regulations - rules created by an outgoing administration before it leaves office

References