The Center for Presidential Transition’s comprehensive guide on the activities required during the transition. This guide for the 2024 presidential election cycle was produced in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group. It features detailed outlines of transition best practices, historical materials from past transitions, and recommendations for a successful presidential transition to a new or second-term administration.
Federal agencies face a cascading series of challenges before and after a presidential election and into the early months of a new or second-term administration. Since 2008, the Partnership for Public Service has provided resources to federal agencies, while promoting knowledge-sharing and collaboration, to strengthen presidential transitions.
The Agency Transition Guide has been developed by the Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition® and Boston Consulting Group, informed by conversations with federal leaders and other presidential transition experts. It provides lessons learned from past transitions at federal agencies and includes best practices and key decision points to help senior career executives lead successful transition planning efforts.
While this guide focuses on presidential transitions, most federal agencies will also experience a change in political leadership at least once during an administration. The practices outlined in this guide apply to principal leadership transitions independent of the election cycle.
Despite unprecedented challenges, President Biden oversaw one of the most well-planned presidential transitions in U.S. history. The Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition supported this process behind the scenes, providing key insights to the Biden team as it prepared to potentially take office and working with stakeholders across government to facilitate an effective transfer of power.
The Center for Presidential Transition examined the transcripts from the Senate confirmation hearings of 23 Cabinet-level and agency head positions. We isolated and categorized questions from the confirmation hearings of the two most recent officials confirmed for each selected position.
Further delays by the General Services Administration in recognizing the outcome of the Nov. 3 election could impede the ability of President-elect Joe Biden to make timely and critical appointments for key COVID-19 and national security-related positions, thereby weakening the government’s ability to protect our nation and distribute life-saving vaccines.
Following the 2000 election, Bush-Cheney Transition Chairman Dick Cheney communicated the implications of a delayed transition, the requirements of building a new government and his thoughts on the General Service Administration’s denial of transition resources. These quotes are primarily from news conferences on Nov. 27 and Nov. 29, 2000.