Previous experiences can inform the work of the current presidential transition facing today’s unique challenges. This report includes eight recommendations for a president-elect’s transition team and an outgoing White House based on interviews with veterans of previous transitions and other experts.
The Presidential Records Act outlines requirements regarding the maintenance, access and preservation of presidential and vice-presidential information during and after a presidency. The act states that presidential records are the property of the United States and must be preserved in perpetuity.
With a little over two months before Inauguration Day and the country facing a raging pandemic, an economic crisis and numerous national security and domestic challenges, the cost of withholding critical federal transition support increases every day.
The Bush-Obama transition is widely seen as the gold standard of smooth transitions, one that took place during two wars and a financial crisis. Not every handoff has been smooth. This exchange of letters between President Truman and Republican presidential candidate Eisenhower show a more heated transfer of power.
August 16, 1952
Dear Ike:- I am sorry if I caused you embarrassment. What I’ve always had in mind was and is a continuing foreign policy. You know that it is a fact, because you had a part in outlining it.
Partisan politics should stop at the boundaries of the United States. I am extremely sorry that you have allowed a bunch of screwballs to come between us. You have made a bad mistake and I’m hoping it won’t injure this great Republic. There has never been one like it and I want to see it continue regardless of the man who occupies the most important position in the history of the world.
May God guide you and give you light.
From a man who has always been your friend and who always wanted to be!
Sincerely,
Harry Truman
Truman, Harry S. “Message to Dwight D. Eisenhower regarding President Truman’s invitation to a luncheon and briefing at the White House,” Aug. 16, 1952. Retrieved from The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, President’s Secretary’s Files, General File, Eisenhower, Dwight D. (2 of 2: 1950 – 1953), Box 101.
Aug 19. 1952
Dear Mr. President,
My sincere thanks for the courtesy of your note of the 16th. I assure you that your invitation caused me no personal embarrassment.
My feeling merely was that, having entered this political campaign, I would have become involved in the necessity of making laborious explanations to the public, if I had met with the President and Cabinet. Since there was no hint of national emergency conveyed by the telegram of invitation, and since I belong, no longer, to any of the public services, I thought it wiser to decline.
I repeat my gratefulness for the invitation and for the offer to send me weekly CIA Reports. Through these I shall keep familiar with the foreign situation. Further, I assure you of my support of real bi-partisanship in foreign problems.
With renewed assurances of my respect and esteem.
Sincerely
Dwight Eisenhower
Eisenhower, Dwight D. “Response to President Truman’s invitation to a luncheon and briefing at the White House,” Aug. 19, 1952. Retrieved from The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, President’s Secretary’s Files, General File, Eisenhower, Dwight D. (2 of 2: 1950 – 1953), Box 101
The transition from George W. Bush to Barack Obama presents a model of how two administrations from different parties can work together to keep America secure in the face of challenges at home and abroad.
Previous presidential transitions have occurred during times of crisis. During the 2008-2009 transition, the two sides closely cooperated to hand over management of the government during the financial crisis.
Following the election, a president-elect traditionally engages in limited outreach to foreign leaders. Building relationships with key foreign leaders is critical and can help determine the success of the new president’s foreign policy. During the transition period, however, it is important for the president-elect and the staff to ensure the government is always speaking with one voice, particularly on matters of national security and foreign policy. As a result, the State Department traditionally has helped coordinate phone calls between a president-elect and foreign dignitaries. Best practice would be for the president-elect to avoid commitments that might undermine the current administration.
In the case of President-elect Barack Obama in 2008-2009, engagement with foreign leaders began with a series of phone calls placed shortly after Election Day to close American allies. This list included the United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, Canada and Mexico. This engagement was strategic and intended to emphasize the importance of these nations to the United States.
Two days later, Obama placed calls to leaders in Russia and China, countries with more complex relationships with United States. The chart below, compiled by the Center for Presidential Transition and the Boston Consulting Group, illustrates the calls placed by Obama and offers a rough roadmap for what we can expect from Vice President Biden should he win the election.
The transition between a president’s first and second term has been both under-explored and undervalued, but it presents unique opportunities and challenges. In the joint paper from the Miller Center and the Center for Presidential Transition explores the lessons of history to provide a roadmap for future presidents’ fifth years.
A paper by UVA’s Miller Center Director and CEO William Antholis and Center for Presidential Transition Director David Marchick featuring lessons learned from previous transitions that occurred during political and economic crises.
The Center for Presidential Transition’s comprehensive guide on the activities required during the transition. This guide for the 2020 presidential election cycle was produced in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group. It features detailed outlines of transition best practices, historical materials from past transitions, and recommendations for a successful presidential transition to a new or second-term administration.