Trump signs MOU with Biden White House for next phase of transition

After a lengthy delay, President-elect Trump has signed off on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the White House, which will allow officials to meet with counterparts at departments and agencies ahead of the January transition of power.

Susie Wiles, who will serve as Trump’s chief of staff, said in a statement on Tuesday that the transition team had signed the memorandum with “President Joe Biden’s White House.”

“This engagement allows our intended Cabinet nominees to begin critical preparations, including the deployment of landing teams to every department and agency, and complete the orderly transition of power,” Wiles said.

The Trump transition said landing teams would “quickly integrate directly into federal agencies and departments with access to documents and policy sharing.” The members of those landing teams would be disclosed to the Biden administration.

The Trump transition said it would not use taxpayer funding for costs related to the transition, nor would it use government buildings provided by the Government Services Administration. 

The transition has not disclosed its donors, however, making it unclear who is funding Trump’s preparations to take office in January. Tuesday’s announcement said donors would be disclosed to the public and that foreign donations would not be accepted.

Wiles’s statement did not say the transition had signed any similar document with the Justice Department to complete background checks of incoming officials, nor did it give any indication about whether Trump’s team would release an ethics agreement about resolving conflicts of interest.

Instead, the transition said it has an “existing Ethics Plan for those involved, which will meet the requirements for personnel to seamlessly move into the Trump Administration.” That plan will be posted to the General Services Administration website, the Trump team said.

White House officials told The Hill that progress has been made toward an agreement on a memorandum of understanding with the Justice Department. If it is necessary to share classified information with a member of the transition, agencies will need to determine that the individual has the proper security clearance, officials said.

The transition's signing of the memorandum with the White House comes three weeks after Trump's victory on election night. By comparison, then-candidate Joe Biden and his team signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate a transition of power in early September of 2020, before that year's election took place.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and others have raised concerns about the lack of memorandums signed by the Trump team on both background checks and ethics agreements.

Trump, who has been sharply critical of the FBI since his first term, has sidestepped the bureau’s role in conducting background checks of his nominees and appointees for security clearances. 

People familiar with the matter told The Hill that the Biden White House have pressed the Trump team to sign the necessary memoranda of understanding since September, and White House chief of staff Jeff Zients personally stressed the importance of the documents after Election Day.

Biden himself emphasized the significance of the memoranda during a Nov. 13 meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, people familiar with the matter said. Zients met with Wiles in his office on Nov. 19 and again pushed for the Trump team to sign the memoranda.

"The fact is that on January 20 at 12 pm, President Trump and his team will be in seat. We have 2 options," Saloni Sharma, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

"Option one is no transition, potentially risking the security of the American people and our country," Sharma said. "Option two is conduct a smooth transition with safeguards in the White House MOU to protect non-public information and prevent conflicts of interest. Option two is the responsible course and in the best interest of the American people."

Updated at 6:07 p.m.