Donald Trump’s idea of a smooth transition is to ignore the rules he himself put in place

As we learned last election, Donald Trump holds little regard for the peaceful transfer of power between presidential administrations. In 2020, Trump flat out refused to accept the results of the election and initiated a riot at the Capitol. This time, even though he won the election, Trump has stubbornly refused to sign required documents in accordance with the Presidential Transition Act (PTA).

At first glance, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Trump has always shown disregard for the non-partisan conventions that have upheld democracy in this country for more than 200 years. However, Trump’s staunch refusal to comply, in this case, is a strange turn considering many of the PTA stipulations were signed into law by himself during his first term.

The PTA stipulates presidential candidates sign two Memorandums of Understanding (one with the General Services Administration, and one with the incumbent president) in order to access pre- and post-election resources. These resources include things like office spaces, IT equipment, and staff assistance, in an effort to allow the Office of the President to continue functioning without interruption.

So far, according to Rep. Jamie Raskin, a ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Trump has “rejected these resources and refused to commit to a smooth transition.” Once a candidate has signed the MOUs and received access to pre-election “services and facilities” from the federal government, they can only receive outside private donations “in amounts of less than $5,000 per donor.” Raskin suspected Trump’s refusal to comply is “at least partially driven by [his] intent to circumvent fundraising rules that put limits on private contributions…[and a] general aversion to ethics rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest.”

There have been multiple amendments to the PTA (most recently by Biden in 2022). However, the ethics rules the Raskin references were added by Trump himself. In 2019, Trump expanded the PTA, specifically “requir[ing] presidential candidates to create and release an ethics plan for their transition team prior to the election.” The ethics plan is required to identify “any current or former lobbyists on the teams, disclose conflicts of interest for the candidate and team members, and include a code of ethical conduct that all members must sign.” 

Candidates must also make their ethics plans available to the public no later than Oct. 1. Kamala Harris’ campaign released its ethics plan on Sept. 19, while Trump’s team never submitted one. Even after winning the election, Trump is still digging in his feet and refusing to sign MOUs to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierr recently commented on the transition from Biden’s administration to Trump’s. “Our teams continue to stay in touch,” she said. However, “as of now, the Trump-Vance transition team has not yet entered into the agreements with the White House and the General Service Administration.” Trump hasn’t provided any reason why he he won’t comply, but one source claims the impasse between the president elect’s team and Biden’s administration hinges on the PTA’s ethics agreement. The very ethics pledge Trump added as a requirement to the PTA is one that he now refuses to make.

Though it’s satisfying to see Trump’s own legislation come back to bite him, it’s not a good sign that he refuses to even pretend to agree to an ethical code of conduct. After all, just because he signs an ethics pledge doesn’t mean he’s bound to it—going back on his word has never stopped Trump before. What’s really strange is why Trump initiated the expansion of the PTA in the first place. He doesn’t have any concerns about ethics or conflicts of interest, at least not when it comes to his own. Perhaps his amendment to the PTA was intended as a ‘rules for thee, not for me’ sort of thing meant to cause his successors hardship.   

Regardless of his reasoning, Trump’s rejection of the PTA requirements stand out as one of his greatest hypocrisies. Sadly, hypocrisy isn’t something Trump’s followers seem to care about, and as they refuse to hold him accountable, it’s going to be open season for Trump to further his private interests throughout his second term.