Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is elevating issues in regards to the Trump marketing campaign’s failure to enter into presidential transition agreements with the federal authorities, cautioning that the delay may negatively impression the switch of energy early subsequent 12 months.
Raskin — the highest Democrat on the Home Oversight Committee — laid out his worries in a letter to former President Trump and his operating mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), on Wednesday.
“Breaking the precedent set by every other presidential candidate since 2010, you have rejected these resources and refused to commit to a smooth transition,” Raskin wrote.
“Your actions depart from well-established norms of the federal government and demonstrate a spectacular disregard for the successful continuation of the essential institutions of American democratic government,” he added.
NBC Information was the primary to report on the letter.
The Presidential Transition Act directs main get together candidates to enter into memorandums of understanding (MOU) with the sitting president and Basic Companies Administration (GSA) so employees can obtain related sources — together with govt department workers, services, paperwork and nationwide safety data — through the months between the election and the inauguration. The agreements additionally embody an ethics plan.
In line with Raskin, Trump’s marketing campaign has not but signed an MOU with the GSA, which was due on Sept. 1, or President Biden, the incumbent president, which was due on Oct. 1. The Harris marketing campaign has entered into each agreements, in keeping with Raskin.
A GSA spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that it has entered into an MOU with the Harris marketing campaign, and famous that “the Federal Transition Coordinator is actively working with the Trump transition team to complete an MOU.”
The Hill reached out to the White Home for extra data and to the Trump marketing campaign for remark.
Raskin in his letter urged the Trump marketing campaign might not have entered into its transition agreements out of a want to bypass fundraising and ethics guidelines. The Presidential Transition Act says candidates can not settle for greater than $5,000 for the transition from an individual, group or different entity as soon as they signal the MOUs and obtain the federal help.
“It appears your decision may be at least partially driven by your intent to circumvent fundraising rules that put limits on private contributions on the transition effort and require public reporting,” Raskin wrote. “You may also be acting out of a more general aversion to ethics rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest in the incoming administration.”
“With fewer than three weeks left until an election in which the American people will select a new President of the United States, I urge you to put the public’s interest in maintaining a properly functioning government above any personal financial or political interests you may perceive in boycotting the official transition law and process,” he added.
Trump unveiled the management for his transition staff in August, which incorporates high donors Linda McMahon, who served as head of the Small Enterprise Affiliation throughout Trump’s first time period, and Howard Lutnick, the top of monetary agency Cantor Fitzgerald, because the co-chairs. Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and Vance are honorary chairs.
Within the letter, Raskin referenced Trump’s feedback on the Financial Membership of Chicago final week when he sidestepped a query about committing to a peaceable transition of energy. Through the dialog, he said “you had a peaceful transfer of power” in 2020.
“Alas, your recent public statements and your conduct four years ago provide cold comfort to the American people, who have sought to create continuity and legitimacy in the transition between administrations,” Raskin wrote.
