Donald Trump won. Now the sprint to turn over one of the largest organizations on the planet begins.
Trump’s transition team — working parallel to Kamala Harris’ — has already spent months quietly crafting plans to realign the federal government. They’ve been making shortlists for Cabinet jobs, assembling “landing teams” for federal agencies, vetting a slew of potential political appointees, hammering out ‘Day One’ policy plans and doing all the other prep work the next leader of the free world needs. But now that there is the official winner, much of this work moves into the open.
With less than 11 weeks until Inauguration Day, here’s what happens next:
— Every four to eight years, the agency primarily tasked with managing the government’s vast real estate holdings becomes a hub of transition resources for an incoming administration. The General Service Administration — which became a target of Trump’s ire in 2020 — provides office space, tech support and funding for the president- and vice president-elect from now until as late as to 60 days after the inauguration, depending on their needs.
— National security briefings begin. The president-elect’s team will receive a classified summary of national security concerns as soon as possible.
— Mid-November: Trump’s transition team starts sending “agency review teams” to at least a few dozen of the more than 100 federal agencies. Those teams are tasked with sussing out the state of the career workforce and budget, how its current work fits into the new administration’s priorities, and what headaches are waiting for them. They compile reports and submit them to the transition leaders before Inauguration Day.
— Late November: Transition staff are expected to select its top 50 candidates for Cabinet positions and several key White House personnel, such as general counsel and domestic policy adviser. They will also recruit and train “sherpas” — the officials who help guide nominees through the Senate confirmation process. Those Sherpas will start putting out feelers to key Senate committees and members of leadership in an effort to get many nominees confirmed by Inauguration Day.
— Early-to-mid-December: The president-elect is expected to have a slate of executive orders and regulations prepared and an early draft of the budget proposal the incoming president will send to Congress in early 2025.
— Late December. The GSA will start supporting President Joe Biden’s transition out of office — support that can last up to seven months.
— By the end of January, trainings and orientations for incoming Cabinet members take place, particularly those with less experience with the federal government. They also need to select roughly 4,000 political appointees for positions across the executive branch, about a quarter of which require Senate confirmation.
