The presidential transfer of command in the United States entails an entire work schedule governed by a federal law that has been successively reformed to guarantee an orderly transition of public service. Here are some answers to key questions about that process.
There are only a few days left until the inauguration of the president-elect Donald Trump in Washington and all the federal agencies involved in this process are moving at full speed towards the final stretch, following a schedule established for more than a year and whose peak will be January 20.
In the United States, the change of command in the Executive is governed by the Presidential Transition Law created in 1963, which guarantees total stability in the change of president, secretaries and undersecretaries of the different departments and other high-ranking officials in the Executive of the federal government.
The professor of Political Science at Miami College, Richard Tapia, explained to the Voice of America that the process begins two years before, with a defined schedule to “keep the government stable during the transition.”
What is a transition and why is it so important in the US?
For the Brennan Center for Justice (BCJ), an analysis center at the New York University School of Law, the transfer of power “particularly from one political party to another, is the maximum expression of the rule of law and of a society.” governed by law, not by individual rulers.”
The process has its origins in the founding of the United States with independence from Great Britain, on July 4, 1776, the proclamation of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, and the management of the first president, George Washington, who took office on the 30th. April 1789 who defended peaceful alternation as a secure form of government.
Washington's legacy, for the Brennan Center, is to have voluntarily renounced staying in power and to have established “an unbroken tradition of presidents ceding power, even to their staunchest political opponents.”
The process of 2021 handoverfrom outgoing president Donald Trump to the current president, Joe Biden, was considered “unheard of in the history of the country,” according to the BCJ, as public statements were made by officials who refused to facilitate the process.
Among those was the head of the General Services Administration, Emily W. Murphy, a Trump appointee, who refused to formally recognize Biden as the winner of the election, delaying funding for the presidential transition.
How is the inauguration by re-election different from that of a change of president?
The presidential swearing-in on January 20 demands a complete change process in the Executive; In addition, another party will take over, which leads to the replacement of all the leading cadres of the federal administration in Washington.
In the case of continuity of a second term by re-election, the president only makes the provisions and cabinet changes that are later approved by the Senate; But the regulations indicate that the president must be sworn in on January 20 at noon outside the Capitol, to avoid a power vacuum and comply with the constitutional order.
Can there be a presidential transition for a third term?
The answer is contained in amendment 22 of the Constitutionwhich clearly states that “no person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice.”
He National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, clarifies that the amendments approved by Congress in 1947, and ratified in 1951, were given to close the possibility of a president exceeding the terms and provisions made by President George Washington of eight years maximum in the can.
“The amendment has its roots in concerns raised after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms in office between 1932 and 1944. Roosevelt objected to an unwritten precedent set by George Washington,” according to an analysis of the National Constitution Center.
Roosevelt's successive presidencies were embraced by the need for strong leadership in the midst of the Great Depression and World War II “to justify his additional terms,” but that door was closed for the future.
“Any amendment to repeal the 22nd Amendment would face practical and logistical obstacles, as 38 states would be needed to ratify the repeal amendment proposed by two-thirds of the House and Senate,” according to the National Constitution Center.
How much does a presidential transition cost?
The General Services Administration (GSA), an autonomous agency of the US government, is the responsible for managing budget resources to proceed with the change of presidential command.
With the requirements made for the fiscal year 2025 operating budget, Congress approved $11.2 million “to provide for the orderly transfer of executive leadership,” which according to the approved establishment would be available to the incoming administration “beginning on the day following the general election and will end 60 days after the inauguration.”
The use of the funds is not whimsical, as it is subject to specific items and allocations, even the outgoing ruler also has authority over some funds “the expenses of the outgoing president and vice president (will be available) from 30 days before and up to six months after his term expires,” as explained in the current budget law.
The GSA makes available “7.2 million for the orderly transfer of executive leadership,” with funds available to the incoming president to establish and compensate the work of his transition teams and cover management, mobility, communications and logistics expenses , among others.
The 2025 budget included an explanatory clause that the allocated fund is due to annual inflationary adjustments and that these funds “will be terminated if there is no change in the Administration after the 2024 presidential election.”
What other funds are channeled for investiture events?
Since 2008, an Alliance for Public Service began to operate in the form of a public-private partnership to contribute to presidential transition expenses, opening spaces for donations from individuals and corporations for the change of command events.
A explanatory article from the Center for Presidential Transition considers that these change processes from one administration to another are costly and “They easily reach tens of millions of dollars.”
According to this center, the incoming team must prepare quickly by “training staff and appointing about 4,000 political officials, including cabinet and senior White House officials. These expenses are covered by private fundraising sources and federal allocations,” he explains.
Since 2012, private contributions for the inauguration of former President Barack Obama's second term became notorious, and from then on they have been increasing.
“In 2016, President Donald Trump's transition team also used public funds and $4.6 million in private contributions to facilitate his transition efforts,” according to the Center for Presidential Transition.
Likewise in 2020, President Joe Biden's transition team accepted available public funds but supplemented expenses with private donations. “Biden's team spent $24.3 million of privately raised money to ensure a smooth transition of power,” this center reports.
Are there limits on donations for the inauguration?
The Federal Election Commission clarify that disbursements for the presidential transition “are not regulated,” considering that the funds are allocated from the federal government budget, under the Presidential Transition Laws (PTA) of 1963 and 2015.
“The PTA also allows donations for transition-related expenses. These donations are limited to $5,000 from any person, organization or other entity,” according to the Commission.
However, in mid-December it emerged that Amazon and Meta, the latter owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, They would donate 1 million dollars each to the presidential transition fund.
During Trump's first presidential inauguration, Facebook did not donate anything, and Amazon contributed $58,000, other technology companies such as Google donated close to a quarter of a million dollars to Trump's first inauguration.