Related: Congressman Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Call for Department of Justice to Appoint a Special Counsel to Investigate Jared Kushner for Acting as an Unregistered Foreign Agent

October 27, 2024 - Washington, D.C. - With less than two weeks until the 2024 presidential election, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, sent a letter to former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance urging the Republican presidential campaign to sign key documents that ensure continuity of government and help facilitate a peaceful and orderly transition of power.

The Republican nominee’s failure to sign these documents—which have already been submitted by the Democratic nominee and which trigger government transition funding, planning assistance, and critical information—is a stunning departure from the norms of the federal government and threatens to disrupt continuity in the transition from one administration to the next.

“Breaking the precedent set by every other presidential candidate since 2010, you have rejected these resources and refused to commit to a smooth transition. It appears your decision may be at least partially driven by your intent to circumvent fundraising rules that put limits on private contributions on the transition effort and require public reporting. You may also be acting out of a more general aversion to ethics rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest in the incoming administration. With fewer than two weeks left until an election in which the American people will select a new President of the United States, we urge you to put the public’s interest in maintaining a properly functioning government above any personal financial or political interests you may perceive in boycotting the official transition law and process,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin.

In accordance with the Presidential Transition Act (PTA), major party candidates sign Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the federal government and the incumbent president to access pre-election resources, including office space and equipment, information technology, and staff assistance. These resources are meant to prevent major disruptions and facilitate continuity in government during the transition from one administration to the next. These resources help ensure that the incoming President and new Administration are ready to govern on day one.

The PTA also directs the incumbent president to negotiate an MOU with each qualifying candidate to address potential ethics concerns such as how presidential transition staff will access the people and information—including national security information—needed to help ensure a safe and secure presidential transition. This second MOU also requires that candidates implement and enforce an ethics plan to guide the conduct of the transition not later than October 1, 2024—a date that has since passed.

In addition, candidates who accept these services and facilities can only receive outside private donations, which are by law reported publicly, of no more than $5,000 per donor.

GSA’s MOU with the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket, as well as the Harris-Walz transition ethics plan, are publicly available.

Up until this presidential election, no eligible major party candidate has ever failed to sign the MOUs. However, the 2024 Republican ticket, has failed to sign either MOU or submit an ethics plan before the deadline, rejecting pre-election services, disregarding well-established norms of the federal government, and potentially setting up the government for potential failure during the transition and beyond.

Former President Trump’s failure to sign the MOUs is particularly troubling in light of the fact that he has repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. Just last week, Trump again failed to make this commitment and erroneously asserted that there was a peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 election, even though he incited an insurrection that culminated in the January 6, 2021, violent mob invasion of the U.S. Capitol.

Click here to read the letter.
Source: Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability