A paper by UVA’s Miller Center Director and CEO William Antholis and Center for Presidential Transition Director David Marchick featuring lessons learned from previous transitions that occurred during political and economic crises.
As required by law, the Biden-Harris Transition Team released their ethics plan and code of ethical conduct, which transition team members are required to abide by throughout the presidential transition. The code addresses conflicts of interest, lobbying, access to non-public information, engaging with federal agencies and federal property and soliciting and accepting gifts.
Memo from Acting OMB Deputy Director for Management Michael Rigas and GSA Federal Transition Coordinator Mary Gibert to agency heads with guidance on presidential transition preparations dated Sept. 4, 2020.
The 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Joe Biden transition team and the General Services Administration establishing the support and services the transition team will receive as described in the Presidential Transition Act. This document was signed by the Elizabeth Cain from GSA and a representative from the eligible candidate.
The report that the General Services Administration submitted to Congress on the presidential transition three months ahead of the election, as required by law. This document covers the meetings of the White House Coordinating Council and career Agency Transition Directors Council and activities of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Department of Justice and FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service, Office of Government Ethics (OGE), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and the GSA.
Data on President Barack Obama’s Cabinet nominations from the Senate. This includes nominees’ names and dates of their nomination announcement, hearing, received in the Senate and confirmation.
This document, prepared by the Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition® and the law firms of Steptoe & Johnson and Holland & Knight collects historical examples of decisions previous administrations have made when vetting prospective political appointees. It includes updates for the 2020 presidential transition cycle.
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) transition guide is a comprehensive resource to help potential political appointees, nominees and their support networks successfully navigate the financial disclosure, conflicts of interest and other ethical requirements of nominees.
The report that the General Services Administration submitted to Congress on the presidential transition six months ahead of the election, as required by law. This document covers the establishment of the White House Coordinating Council and career Agency Transition Directors Council, other activities of the GSA, funding and resources provided to the eligible candidate(s) and the role of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Department of Justice, FBI, Office of Government Ethics (OGE), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Government workers have long put their lives on the line to protect us but today, they’re doing so on a massive scale and under the most challenging circumstances.
Federal, state, local, and tribal governments deliver vitally important services to the American people every day. Since 1985, Americans have honored our public employees during the first week of May. This year, with all the sacrifice and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Service Recognition Week has even more resonance than usual. Public servants at all levels of government have long put their lives on the line to protect us, and this work is taking place on a massive scale under the most challenging circumstances today.
Our approximately 22 million public servants have an important role in meeting the most critical public needs. They have been indispensable since our nation’s founding in helping to build a more perfect union dedicated to liberty, justice and equality for all. And throughout our history, they have been critical to maintaining continuity of government during changes of political leadership and in times of crisis.
In the midst of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, many dedicated public servants—doctors, nurses, first responders—are providing the life-saving services that we depend upon for our safety and health even as they sacrifice their own. Other public servants are still working valiantly to provide police and fire protection, educate our children, conduct medical research, provide income support to individuals and businesses, care for veterans, deliver our mail, steward our natural resources, and protect our environment.
To all of them, we give our thanks and owe a sincere debt of gratitude.
Before the pandemic arrived on America’s shores, necessitating a societal-wide lockdown, the National Academy of Public Administration named “Modernize and Reinvigorate the Public Service” as one the Grand Challenges in Public Administration in November 2019. The need for leaders, managers, technical experts and front-line workers in the right jobs with the right skills at the right time has become even important as governments are increasingly called upon to address complex and interconnected “wicked problems” like this pandemic.
As a former director and an acting/deputy director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in presidential administrations of different parties, we believe strongly that public service is an important calling. We have witnessed personally the positive impact that government has on people’s lives, including during times of national tragedy like September 11, 2001. We also have witnessed the frustration of many public servants who are trapped in dysfunctional systems and many citizens who want their hard-earned tax dollars to be spent more effectively and efficiently.
During this year’s Public Service Recognition Week, as we not only struggle with immediate challenges, but also wonder when a new “normal” life will resume and what it will entail, Americans should:
Elevate the concept of public service. It is easy to forget that the government is all of us and each of us. With many current public servants risking burnout and approaching retirement, we hope that recent graduates and mid-career practitioners will consider becoming a public servant at one of our levels of government. Your knowledge, skills and abilities are needed more now than ever.
Honor and protect our public servants. We should honor and recognize their commitment to providing effective and efficient—and life-saving—public services each and every day. We should ensure that they have the working conditions, the pay and the equipment (including personal protective equipment) required to do their jobs.
Commit to reforming human capital systems and processes. So many public agencies struggle with laborious and time-consuming hiring practices, limited salary flexibilities, and promotion rules that value longevity over expertise and performance. Reforming and adapting these systems and processes to a 21st century environment along the lines proposed by many good government organizations can help us recruit, retain and train the public servants we need—both now and long into the future.
With this public health and economic crisis, Americans are living through the most challenging time in our national life since World War II. Yet, as Americans, we should never forget that we are resilient, resourceful and creative. We have been through tragedies before, and we will come through this one. And one of our greatest assets in helping ensure that success is the expertise and dedication of millions of public servants, who are on the front lines helping government deliver on its promises to the American people. Together, we will prevail.
Dan Blair, former acting director and deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management and former president and CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration, is senior counselor with the Center for Presidential Transition.
Janice Lachance, former director of the Office of Personnel Management, is executive vice president for strategic leadership and global outreach at the American Geophysical Union.