The Center for Presidential Transition’s comprehensive guide on the activities required during the transition. This guide for the 2020 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.
Memo from Acting Office of Management and Budget Director, Russell Vought, to agency heads with guidance on presidential transition preparations and implementing the Presidential Transition Act dated April 4, 2020. This memo includes guidance on the timetable of agency actions, including which agencies will participate in the Agency Transition Directors Council (ATDC) and other agencies who will name a transition point of contact.
Preparing for the enormous responsibility of running the federal government is the most important job for any presidential candidate.
The Partnership for Public Service lauds President Trump for signing S.394, the Presidential Transition Enhancement Act, following approval of the bill by both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by voice vote.
The bill contains several provisions recommended by the Partnership for Public Service and will clarify ambiguities in existing law and build on best practices of prior transition teams.
“Presidential transition legislation has always been nonpartisan because it is about the effective function of our government, not any one presidential candidate,” said Kristine Simmons, vice president of government affairs at the Partnership for Public Service. “The President and Members of the House and Senate deserve credit for working across the aisle to ensure that the Presidential Transition Enhancement Act continues that nonpartisan tradition. This is ‘good government’ legislation that clarifies existing law based on lessons learned in the 2016 transition.”
Among other things, the legislation:
- Requires a process for negotiation and implementation of MOUs between transition teams and the General Services Administration regarding post-transition support, including treatment of transition team records;
- Clarifies that agency representatives on the Agency Transition Directors Council are the senior career employees responsible for their agencies’ transition efforts;
- Requires that by September 15 of an election year, each agency have a succession plan in place for senior political positions so that agencies are prepared for the turnover that will occur in the transition to a second term or to a new administration;
- Ensures that GSA will provide transition teams with office space and other support for 60 days after the inauguration, in order to help the transition team focus on recruiting and hiring in the early days of administration while White House personnel settle into their new jobs; and
- Codifies the past practice of transition teams publicly disclosing the ethics requirements for their transition team members.
“One important provision of this bill requires that by September 15 in any election year, each agency must have a succession plan in place for senior political positions so that the administration is prepared for turnover in those positions,” Simmons said, “Turnover is likely to occur even if the president is re-elected. The Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition analysis of the last three two-term presidents shows that from Election Day through the first six months of the second term, an average of 43% of secretaries, deputy secretaries and undersecretaries left their jobs.”
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), moved through the Senate with the co-sponsorship of Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH). On the House side, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Mark Meadows (R-NC) were instrumental in seeing the bill through House passage. The ethics provisions of the bill are based on legislation originally introduced by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), along with Senators Carper and Warren.
Few have served with more distinction than Josh Bolten and Denis McDonough, chiefs of staff for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In this conversation, they talk about three types of transitions – into government, to a second term, and the handoff to the next administration.
Listen, rate and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn.
This letter stresses the importance of early preparation by President Trump and the Democratic candidates to be equipped for a second term or new administration.
In November 2024, the Partnership for Public Service published an updated version of this report with new data and improved methods for calculations that is available here.
Data from the Partnership for Public Service found that Senate confirmation of presidential appointees are taking longer than ever.
Why it Matters
A major presidential responsibility is to fill more than 1,200 political appointments requiring Senate confirmation. Few decisions have a greater impact on the success of an administration than the selection of its people. A president must not only select well-qualified appointees, but work with relevant federal agencies and the Senate to get appointees in place quickly. This is especially crucial for a president beginning their first term, or transitioning to a second term, as year five usually coincides with a turnover of more than 40% in senior leadership positions.
This guide and checklist outlines leading practices and key actions CHCOs can take to build effective relationships with new appointees during their first weeks and throughout the onboarding process to position them as a trusted advisor. It includes insights and advice from current and former CHCOs, appointees and other federal leaders.
Second-term presidents are faced with monumental challenges and need to be prepared for changes in critical leadership jobs. New data compiled by the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition shows that the last three presidents each experienced significant Cabinet-level turnover soon after their 2nd inauguration.
The guide for incoming assistant secretaries for administration and management (ASAM) is designed to support an ASAM lead effectively from their first day. It has been developed with input from current and former ASAMs and lists key actions a new ASAM can take to accelerate their impact during their first month on the job. It also highlights leading practices they can use to strengthen their effectiveness over their first year and beyond.