This move allows a team Trump Coordinate directly with federal agencies and access documents.
The unusual delay in signing the agreement after the November 5 elections raised concerns among some about the possibility of faltering government operations or the occurrence of a conflict of interest.
Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said The white house The Trump administration said in a statement that the move allows “the start of critical preparations, such as deploying teams in every ministry and agency, and completing the orderly transfer of power.”
Trump is scheduled to take office on January 20.
His team had rejected the requests of the Democratic President’s administration Joe Biden He quickly signed the memorandum of understanding and objected to some elements of a traditional transitional agreement, the White House said.
Under the agreement signed Tuesday, Trump’s team declined to sign a government ethics pledge, saying it had its own ethics plan that would “meet the requirements for a smooth transition of employees into the Trump administration.”
A separate ethics pledge was later posted on the General Services Administration’s website and included promises that members of the transition team would avoid conflicts of interest and protect confidential information.
But the agreement did not include a pledge that Trump would avoid conflicts of interest.
Trump’s transition team also did not sign a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Justice to allow the FBI to conduct security checks on appointees, nor did it send the office the names of potential national security employees who would have access to classified information.
White House spokeswoman Saloni Sharma said that the Biden administration does not agree with the Trump team’s decision to refrain from signing some usual agreements, but the White House will move forward with the transition process to avoid further delays.
