Trump transition tests outsider’s governing ability
WASHINGTON >> His status as a presidential nominee barely a week old, Donald Trump is already tasked with assembling a complex transition team capable of hiring thousands of high-level government officials and crafting a detailed policy agenda should he win the presidency.
It’s a herculean task that will test the limits of Trump in particular, a political outsider who, thus far, has struggled to attract experienced talent to his presidential campaign. Experienced officials warn that the safety and economic security of the nation depends on both White House contenders aggressively preparing for the transition to a new presidency in the coming weeks, even as they intensify their political operations for the threemonth sprint to Election Day.
The New York billionaire has shrugged off recent political stumbles that were created, in large part, by extraordinary understaffing and inexperience within his bare bones organization. Yet there is less room for error as the responsibility shifts from winning an election to governingthe world’ s most powerful nation.
“If you aren’ t preparing, then the American public should be concerned about whether you’re fit to lead,” said Partnership for Public Service CEO Max Stier, who is helping both campaigns with transition planning through the non-profit’s Center for Presidential Transition. “The point of maximum vulnerability is when there is that handoff of power.”
Trump and his rival Hillary Clinton open formal transition offices on Monday in the same Pennsylvania Avenue building close to the White House, accommodations funded by taxpayers as part of $13 million Congress appropriated for pre-election planning. The White House said Friday that chief of staff Denis McDonough informed the campaigns that Trump and Clinton are now eligible to receive intelligence briefings from the government. McDonough said senior White House officials will be in touch with both campaigns in the coming weeks.
Trump has entrusted much of the transition planning to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, his transition chairman, along with two longtime Christie loyalists, fundraising chief Bill Palatucci and former chief of staff Rich Bagger. Trump’s son-inlaw Jared Kushner, a real estate developer, is also playing an active role along with Jamie Burke, who played a senior role in Mitt Romney’s transition team four years ago.
Trump’s team has identified experts in major policy areas such as foreign affairs, national security and economic affairs to help build out the transition, but those familiar with preparations to date describe them as preliminary at best.