The Trump campaign reportedly is prepared to pass on receiving transition help from the federal General Services Administration (GSA) in anticipation of President Donald Trump winning the November election.
The GSA normally plays a role in the transition from one administration to the another. It provides office space, technology, and other back-end support that can be crucial to a presidential transition operation.
Trump, the Republican nominee, is opposing Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat nominee, in the race for the White House.
Politico reported Thursday that with an Aug. 31 deadline looming, sources say the Trump team is poised to reject GSA assistance.
While transitions kick into high gear after Election Day, when a president-elect must begin selecting and vetting about 4,000 federal political appointees, success depends on the infrastructure built during the pre-election period, including identifying agency review teams, and beginning the background check process for national security staff.
GSA is required by law to make available federal office space, IT support, and other resources to transition teams, but only once it has entered into memoranda of understanding with representatives for each nominee, which Congress requires the agency to do "to the maximum extent practicable," by Sept. 1.
A GSA spokesperson confirmed that the agency had made its offer to the two candidates.
The Trump campaign, though, has concerns about working with GSA.
First, accepting GSA help means adhering to $5,000-per-donor contribution limits in funding overall costs that can exceed $10 million. Trump allies would prefer fewer people cutting bigger checks.
Second, Politico reported that Trump's team does not trust the GSA after what it experienced in 2016, when there were leaks of potential administration hires and widespread dismay with the agency's decision to hand over transition records to special counsel Robert Mueller.
Some Trump allies blamed federal workers for the leaks.
"The GSA presidential transition support model has run its course and either campaign should have the option to operate their transitions independently in order to have the most flexibility for fundraising, information security, and operations," Ken Nahigian, executive director of Trump's 2016 transition, told Politico.
Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes told Politico that no final decision has been made regarding GSA this time around.
"With transition leadership in place, and many talented leaders to work with, President Trump will have what he needs to build a world-class and effective administration starting on day one," Hughes said.
Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier told Politico that GSA could help with quickly arranging security clearances and in preventing cyberattacks.
Stier added that a transition organization without GSA could be set up as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, meaning no public financial disclosures.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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