Looking Back

THE CENTER FOR PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION’S PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE 2020-21 TRUMP TO BIDEN TRANSFER OF POWER

APRIL 2021 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE Center for Presidential Transition

LOOKING BACK 1 The Partnership for Public Service is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works. The Partnership teams up with federal agencies and other stakeholders to make our government more effective and efficient. We pursue this goal by: • Providing assistance to federal agencies to improve their management and operations, and to strengthen their leadership capacity. • Conducting outreach to college campuses and job seekers to promote public service. • Identifying and celebrating government’s successes so they can be replicated across government. • Advocating for needed legislative and regulatory reforms to strengthen the civil service. • Generating research on, and effective responses to, the workforce challenges facing our federal government. • Enhancing public understanding of the valuable work civil servants perform.

2 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE Executive Summary

he 2020 presidential election and weeks that ership teams. We worked with Congress to strengthen the followed were unlike any in modern American legal framework that governs transitions, provide sufficient history. After months of a surging pandemic, funding for these activities and support the Senate’s role T to provide advice and consent on more than 1,200 political economic turmoil and racial inequity resulting in social unrest, the country experienced additional tumult as appointments. We created Ready to Serve, a comprehen- ballots took four additional days to tabulate, and the pres- sive website for those who want to serve in the adminis- ident sowed distrust in the results in the weeks following tration, but lack the political know-how to competitively the election. These factors further delayed the federal apply. The goals of our Ready to Serve initiative include transition support for President-elect Joe Biden and was increasing diversity among political appointees and better followed by a violent insurrection against Congress on Jan. preparing prospective candidates to help them move 6, 2021 as it met to officially certify Biden as the winner, through the process quickly. challenging the founding principles of our democracy. Yet, Building on our efforts from the past three presidential on Jan. 20, the world watched as Biden was sworn in as transition cycles, we hosted conferences, meetings and the 46th president of the United States. Despite all of the onboarding sessions for transition teams and federal agen- challenges and turmoil, Biden’s presidency got off to a fast cies, developed webinars, fact sheets and issue briefs, and start due to the extensive transition planning that began in conducted research into past practices that highlighted the spring of 2020, with more than 1,100 political appoin- successes and stumbling blocks. We created over 1,000 tees sworn in and nine executive orders signed during his pages of new resources, provided more than 150 historical first few hours in office. documents, engaged nearly 200 subject-matter experts Day one activities at this level would not have been to share their advice and offered wide-ranging guidance possible without extensive preparations, which the Biden to the Biden transition team, Trump administration and team kicked off nearly 10 months before Inauguration career agency officials based on our extensive knowledge Day. In the spring of 2020, the Biden team quietly began of past presidential transitions. an early and extensive effort to lay the groundwork for a Our work would not be possible without our generous potential future administration, which would become one supporters and partners, our dedicated staff and the of the most well-planned transitions in history. Behind many volunteers from our network, who are listed at the the scenes, these efforts were supported by the nonpar- end of this report. We are especially thankful for Boston tisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Consulting Group’s continued support and expertise on Presidential Transition®. As the go-to expert on transition this important work. planning efforts, the Center shared key insights, historical documents, access to subject-matter experts and exten- Despite the challenges and roadblocks along the way, the sive research on nearly every key transition topic and Biden transition team was able to execute one of the most workstream, building on our efforts dating back to 2008. extensively planned transitions, as well as the first-ever virtual transition. While future research will examine their Our work extended well beyond the presidential transition efforts and highlight best practices, this paper lays out the team to support all the key stakeholders involved in a pres- details of the behind-the-scenes role played by the Center idential transition. We also collaborated with the Trump for Presidential Transition to ensure that the winner of Nov. administration to support their dual role in 2020: planning 3, 2020 election would be fully prepared to govern. for a second term and executing their statutory duties as the incumbent administration if there was a transfer of This report is divided into six sections: laying the ground- power. We supported the career agency transition officials work, the Biden transition team, the incumbent adminis- across the federal government responsible for preparing tration, Congress, prospective political appointees, and materials for a potential new administration and their lead- research and experts.

LOOKING BACK 3 Laying the Groundwork

PREPARING FOR 2020

We launched the Center for Presidential Tran- The Center conducted a thorough review of past sition’s 2020 efforts in November 2019, one year practices and identified areas for growth ahead of the presidential election. While the Center created numerous materials to support transitions For the 2020-21 transition cycle, the Center since 2008, we expanded our resources and deep- conducted extensive research and analysis on polit- ened our connections with key stakeholders during ical appointments, provided new resources for the 2020 transition cycle. prospective appointees and added information for The Center targeted three audiences: presiden- agency review teams. tial transition teams, the incumbent administration The Center’s team engaged with a variety of tran- and career agency officials. Presidential candidate sition stakeholders and experts to gain insights and transition teams play a key role in preparing for a lessons learned from past presidential transition new administration in the pre-election phase as cycles. We also held meetings with every former well as post-election. Historically, transition teams transition team executive director dating back to have consisted of individuals close to the presi- Bill Clinton’s 1992 election, along with former White dential candidates who have experience managing House chiefs of staff, senior political appointees and complex teams and operations. However, they do career agency officials with transition experience. not always have the knowledge and experience In December 2019, the Center team interviewed required to effectively prepare for the huge amount Ed Meier, co-executive director of Hillary Clinton’s of work required. This is where the Center fits in, 2016 transition team, and Rich Bagger, executive offering a wealth of information to help transition director of Donald Trump’s 2016 transition team, teams organize their operations and prepare their to get feedback about the 2016 cycle and explore candidates to govern. ways for the Center to add more value in the year to come. We sought advice on which Center resources and activities were the most useful, where we fell short and what knowledge or resource gaps they experienced. With their guidance, the team in 2020 expanded and improved our resources on transi- tion team operations, personnel planning, the role of Senate committees, appointee onboarding and training, and agency review. “Transitions are inevitably Through this process, we refined our materials and research, set up a structure to field requests and challenging, difficult, complicated worked closely with the Biden transition team and and messy. A lot of that can be the White House to provide resources, share best practices and answer questions. We also facilitated mitigated with a much longer an open dialogue with a range of other stakeholders planning cycle, which I think now is to incorporate lessons learned from previous tran- sition cycles. accepted.”

Mack McLarty, chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, Transition Lab podcast

4 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE The Biden Transition

As a nonpartisan source of expertise and infor- and resources. Both Kaufman and Gitenstein mation, the Center worked with all Democratic attended the Center’s initial transition conference campaigns at the beginning of 2020 to ensure they in the spring. began transition planning by the spring. We prepared introductory resources on the need for early plan- The Center hosted its fourth hallmark transition ning for the eight major Democratic campaigns and management conference in late spring to initiate began discussions with the White House in January. transition planning Through April, we maintained a dialogue with Sen. Bernie Sanders’ team, whose Democratic To assist presidential candidates and encourage primary campaign was still active. As it looked early planning, the Center hosted its fourth Pres- increasingly likely that Biden would emerge as the idential Transition Management Conference on nominee, we held extensive discussions with his April 30 and May 1, 2020. For two days, approxi- team. These engagements included meetings with mately 30 senior former transition experts from the transition leaders, former Sen. Ted Kaufman and both political parties, representatives from the former Ambassador Mark Gitenstein, to outline the Biden team, the White House and key government key operational decisions they needed to consider, agencies convened online to discuss crucial consid- discuss a timeline and examine possible goals. The erations regarding the 2020 cycle. In preparation Biden team was keenly aware of the importance of for the conference, the Center updated research on a well-organized transition. When he was a senator past presidential transitions and created a compre- from Delaware, Kaufman was the sponsor of two hensive virtual resource that was sent to partici- laws that strengthened the Presidential Transition pants ahead of the conference. The 58-page fact Act of 1963, providing additional federal support pack outlined:

• Key milestones and phases of presidential transition. • Legislative requirements for presidential “The transition is so important, and transition planning. I just saw that there were some • Fundamental operations and fundraising information. obvious things you do to make it • An overview of presidential appointments. better. And then I got a lot of help • Previous transition team structures. every step of the way from the The Biden team accelerated its transition plan- Partnership for Public Service. ning following the conference. Throughout 2020 You’re the folks that really keep and January of 2021, the Center maintained a highly collaborative and consultative relationship with the track of all the data and know who Biden transition team, which included responding the good people are and prepare to requests for research, historical documents and conversations with subject-matter experts. all the presentations.”

Former Sen. Ted Kaufman, Transition Lab podcast

LOOKING BACK 5 SETTING UP THE TRANSITION OPERATION

Establishing a transition team requires extensive The updated Presidential Transition Act includes planning and knowledge on subjects such as legis- requirements regarding transition team ethics lative requirements, campaign-transition team inte- gration, how to establish and organize a transition Signed into law in March 2020, the updated pres- team and ways to effectively work in a remote envi- idential transition law requires presidential candi- ronment. dates to implement and enforce an ethics plan should they accept GSA support. The law codified The Presidential Transition Act requires federal practices adopted by recent transition teams and preparation and engagement with transition teams set general guidelines, including information about pre- and post-election how the transition team will address former lobby- ists, a prohibition against assigning transition staff to The Presidential Transition Act was designed to work on matters with clear professional conflicts of promote the orderly transfer of power by mandating interest and a requirement to publish an ethics plan. the federal government provide key resources prior To support these new conditions, we examined how to the election to eligible candidates, including office previous transition teams created their ethics plans space, equipment and funding. In March, the Center and the consequences of those decisions in order to released a detailed summary of the law and set up provide an analytical framework so the Biden team conversations with the Biden team. Prior to the could assess its own approach. The transition team’s major political party conventions, candidates are on ethics plan was released by the GSA by Oct. 1, 2020, their own when it comes to operating and funding the date specified in the updated legislation. their transition efforts. However, six months before the election, the law establishes an early cadence for Early decisions set the tone for a transition the federal government transition planning by: team’s success

• Instructing the designation of a senior career While the Presidential Transition Act provides official at each agency to prepare transition operational support for transition, it is up to the materials and succession plans. candidates and their teams to ensure that the infra- structure is in place to take advantage of the oppor- • Requiring the president to establish a White tunities. In addition to setting up a transition oper- House Transition Coordinating Council to ation and ensuring funding, transition leaders must provide guidance to agencies on transition. make several structural and procedural decisions. • Standing up the Agency Transition Directors Some key issues identified and shared with Demo- Council, co-chaired by General Service cratic campaigns during January 2020 included: Administration’s federal transition coordinator and the Office of Management and Budget’s • Who will be the chair(s) and the executive deputy director for management, to support director(s) of the transition team, and what will an integrated approach to transition across the be their responsibilities? federal government. • What are the transition team’s key goals and milestones? After the political conventions, the General • What is the transition team’s fundraising Services Administration allocates federal office strategy? space and equipment to the eligible presidential candidate transition teams, but not to an incum- • How will the transition team coordinate with bent administration who already has access to the campaign? government personnel and resources. In addi- • How will the transition team build a cohesive tion to providing office space and equipment, the organization that can scale rapidly as the GSA negotiates memoranda of understanding for election approaches? post-election support with eligible candidates and ensures that agency briefing materials are prepared.

6 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE There is not necessarily a The first steps in transition campaign due to the $5,000 cap correct answer to these questions, planning require establishing a per donor. Looking at funding for but it is critical for campaign separate transition entity and Trump for America, Inc. in 2016- and transition leaders to be getting organized 17, the Center gained insights on aligned around goals, commu- the rhythm of fundraising for nication and decision-making. Within the past 10 years, changes pre-election transition work. The Center explored pain points in the federal transition law have When reviewing the fund- and challenges associated with resulted in additional federal raising timeline for the Barack integrating the campaign and funding, resources and required Obama transition in 2008-09 transition teams following preparation from agency offi- and the Donald Trump transi- a successful election. After cials for potential transition. As tion in 2016-17, private dona- conducting interviews and mandated in the 2010 presidential tions experienced a significant examining past transition periods, transition law, a transition team spike following the election. In five recommendations emerged must create a 501(c)(4) organiza- fact, both teams received the from our research: tion, separate from the campaign, majority of their contributions to prepare for the assumption after the election. In the first 11 • Select transition leaders who of the duties of the president days following the 2008 election, are trusted by the candidate if they would like to receive the Obama transition team raised and can serve as a bridge to federal government resources. $1.17 million from 1,776 donors.1 the campaign and other key Establishing a 501(c)(4) requires By the time of the inauguration, stakeholders. multiple steps, which the Center the Obama transition had raised outlined in its resource, The • Establish clear roles for almost $4.5 million from 59,609 Nuts and Bolts of a Transition donors.2 In a similar trend, the campaign and transition Organization. teams before Election Day. Trump transition team raised In addition to creating the nearly $5.5 million in private • Create clear processes for organizational entity to house contributions after the 2016 elec- areas in which the campaign transition operations, the Biden tion, but with only 2,977 donors.3 and transition team overlap, transition team needed to build See the graph on page 8 for more such as policy and personnel a budget and begin fundraising. information. decisions. Due to the timing of the 2020 By providing this informa- • Focus on filling key post- conventions, the transition team tion in late spring, the Center election transition roles early gained access to pre-election helped to inform the fundraising in the process. federal resources six weeks later approach implemented by the than transition teams received Biden transition team. • Ensure that after Election them in 2016, meaning the Biden Day, the two teams integrate team would need to rely on their successfully by following private funding and equipment merger and transformation for a longer period of time. best practices. To inform the planning process, the Center provided These recommendations, along examples of budgets from past with in-depth explanations, were transition teams, shared fund- shared with the Biden team in raising strategies and detailed early spring to heighten focus how federal versus private funds on this important process and can be used. Raising upwards of 1 FactCheck.org, “Cost of Obama’s Transi- encourage awareness when plan- $5 million in private donations in tion,” https://bit.ly/3fKWx4f ning the post-election phase of a matter of months is a daunting 2 Change.gov, the Office of the Presi- task that requires early planning dent-elect, https://bit.ly/2BlcAqs presidential transition. 3 GSA.gov, Trump for America 30-day report and close coordination with the to GSA, pgs. 3-56, https://bit.ly/3lKcaMN

LOOKING BACK 7 TRUMP FOR AMERICA, INC. CONTRIBUTIONS4

Month Donations Monthly Total Cumulative Total

June 2016 1 $50 $50

July 2016 28 $121,000 $121,050

August 2016 56 $233,600 $354,650

September 2016 66 $290,070 $644,720

October 2016 109 $207,165 $851,885 November 2016 70 $203,415 $1,055,300 (pre-election) November 2016 214 $917,120 $1,972,420 (post-election) December 2016 2429 $3,748,977 $5,721,397

January 2017 328 $772,536 $6,493,933

February 2017 5 $20,015 $6,513,948

4 GSA.gov, Trump for America 30-day report to GSA, pgs. 3-56, https://bit.ly/3lKcaMN

The coronavirus pandemic significantly altered the Given the inevitable virtual nature of the work 2020 transition cycle in 2020-21, it was important for the Biden team to adopt a new culture of security. This meant The coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact adopting practices like multi-factor authentication during the entire presidential transition cycle, across all accounts (professional and personal) and with the General Services Administration taking assuming that the transition team would be a target the threat seriously and planning for a completely of cyberattacks. Although prior transition teams virtual transition, while continuing physical space considered cybersecurity threats, this issue multi- preparations in the event the situation improved. plied since almost everyone involved worked from home on different networks. Despite the challenges, the Biden transition team kept its work secure.

“COVID has not impacted (the GSA’s) transition planning. We haven’t missed a beat. We’ve kept up with all our statutory requirements. We have held meetings. Before everything was large gatherings in-person. Now we go to Zoom and Google Hangouts. Our platform is different, but our ability to carry out the mission is not.”

Mary Gibert, Federal Transition Coordinator at the GSA, Transition Lab Podcast

8 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS

A key aspect of a presidential operations had fewer than 70 confirmed political positions can transition is selecting, vetting, officials confirmed by the Senate be filled as well as descriptions of appointing and preparing nomi- during the first 100 days of their the appointments process in the nees for political appointments. administrations. As a result, the agencies to help the Biden transi- In a new administration, there Center shifted its personnel tion team craft a strategic staffing are slightly more than 4,000 approach to a more holistic view approach. We provided expertise political appointee positions to of the appointments process for on the types of appointments avail- fill, with about 1,200 requiring the 2020-21 cycle. able and the rules and strategies Senate confirmation. Regardless Senate-confirmed positionsfor processing appointments. We of a new administration or second represent only about a third of engaged former Office of Presiden- term administration, the Center’s appointments made by a new tial Personnel staffers to inform message regarding planning early president. The remaining jobs our analysis of the permanent and is the same. We strongly advise are divided into three catego- temporary Schedule C appoint- preparation and dedication of ries: presidentially appointed, but ments available. resources to personnel planning. not requiring Senate confirma- To best understand how polit- In 2020, the Center analyzed the tion; non-career Senior Execu- ical appointees at all levels work 4,000 political positions, reviewed tive Service; and Schedule C jobs. together to implement the pres- federal hiring authorities, priori- Because individuals named to ident’s agenda, we contacted tized the order of appointments, these jobs are not subject to the more than 20 former high-level detailed vetting processes and confirmation process, they can agency officials to prioritize prepared Senate confirmation assume their federal responsibili- Senate-confirmed and other polit- resources for the Biden transition ties quickly. ically appointed positions based team. While there is information As a result, we added infor- on their ability to impact policy and data available on presiden- mation on non-Senate confirmed at the agency quickly. We used tial appointments throughout the positions to our resource mate- their advice to create an agency- federal government, a publicly rials, compiling best practices, by-agency guide offering insights available and easy-to-understand creative solutions and processes into strategic hiring for maximum source on this topic was previ- about these key personnel posi- impact. The project also high- ously not available. We helped fill tions. The complex system of lighted how an administration’s this information gap by combining federal hiring and various appoint- policy agenda should and should available data and resources along ment schedules are difficult to not shift personnel. with advice from subject-matter understand even for seasoned experts on federal appointments. federal employees. Much of the The Center provided resources specific guidance on Schedule on vetting potential candidates The bulk of appointments do C and non-career SES appoint- for political roles not require Senate confirmation, ments is determined by the Early in 2020, the Center reached but are vital to the success of an Office of Personnel Management. incoming administration out to lawyers who had worked in Without the institutional knowl- previous transitions for advice on When previous presidential edge of each agency, determining the vetting structure and process. transition teams prioritized where to start is a daunting task. A feedback session was held in personnel, they tended to focus on We tapped subject-matter experts early April and resulted in a vetting positions requiring Senate confir- to gather the disparate resources process map for Senate-confirmed mation. The Center supported and develop comprehensive infor- political appointees, which was these efforts by creating lists of mation on non-Senate confirmed included in our 2020 edition of the top management positions and presidential appointments. Presidential Transition Guide. We highlighting the Senate confirma- Our materials highlighted also added a suggested timeline for tion process. However, even the the specific hiring authorities a transition appointments team to best run presidential personnel and speed at which non-Senate follow. Both resources were used

LOOKING BACK 9 as onboarding documents for new Biden transition “One thing to keep in mind is there team members who worked on appointments. The Center enlisted the help of experienced will be committees that have lawyers who vet potential nominees to update the 2016 Presidential Appointments Vetting Guide. The hearings for multiple nominees. So 2020 guide is a collection of precedents, authorities you are stretching the committees and case studies that serve as a reference point for a president’s appointments team as it develops its to capacity. And then there is the own rules and guidelines. The guide also can be used problem of floor time. We were by advisers for potential appointees to better under- stand the types of issues that should be considered. trying to move a legislative agenda, The Center also served as an educational resource on security clearances required for transition team ….so the confirmation process has staff and key political appointees. The quick acquisi- to be balanced with that. And then tion of security clearances for key staff and nominees is critical to ensuring a smooth presidential tran- the last piece that comes to mind is sition. The Center provided guidance on the secu- when nominees become pawns in a rity clearance process, detailing high-level steps for obtaining security clearances pre-election for tran- policy dispute.” sition team members and questions the transition’s security clearance lead should think about. Phil Schiliro, former director of legislative affairs for the Obama White House, on the Transition Lab podcast Filling more than 1,200 political appointments requiring Senate confirmation is a complex and time-intensive process on past nominees who were not confirmed. The Over the years, the Partnership for Public Service Center’s research from Congress.gov on the with- has worked to streamline the presidential appoint- drawn and returned nominations from the George ments process to ensure qualified individuals are in W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump admin- place quickly, especially for roles requiring Senate istrations provided context for roughly 2,000 with- confirmation. In January 2020, the Center released drawn and returned nominations across the three a report entitled, “Senate Confirmation Process administrations. Slows to a Crawl,” that revealed Senate confirma- Key takeaways from this project on the nomina- tions of presidential appointees now takes twice as tions include: long as they did during the Reagan administration. The Center has identified the confirmation • Many of the reasons for withdrawn nominations process as critical to the success of a new adminis- involved issues and controversaries from a tration. In 2020, a suite of resources was updated, as nominee’s past, objections from individual well as created to help inform the Biden transition senators who place a hold on the nominee and team so it could be prepared to quickly send nomi- prevent the confirmation process from moving nees to the Senate. The Center developed overviews forward and positions eliminated in statute or of the 17 Senate committees responsible for consid- through agency reorganization. ering nominees for presidential appointments first created in 2016. Our team built each profile with • Typically, it is not the end of the road for insight gathered from a series of interviews with nominees whose nominations are returned or committees staff members. The resulting slide withdrawn. deck mapped the key committees with authority to » More than two-thirds of the returned confirm executive branch nominations, highlighted nominations examined were resubmitted pain points or sensitivities for each committee and for the same nominee. noted the average speed of committee consideration » The Senate confirmed 47% of nominations for nominees. in priority agencies on the second, third, In addition, we conducted further analysis fourth or fifth attempt.

10 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE The Center compiled resources the navigator teams report to the cy-related issue areas, extracting for the Senate confirmation confirmation management team. commitments from nominees to team and future nominees The Center’s confirmation engage honestly and consistently research also included organiza- with Congress was a common Presidential transition teams tional charts and position descrip- theme. Regardless of committee, assign volunteers with extensive tions. After speaking with former agency or party affiliation, sena- Senate knowledge and relation- navigators, the Center recom- tors asked nominees to pledge ships to help one or more presi- mended that the transition desig- compliance in providing docu- dential appointees navigate the nate a director to orchestrate the ments, witnesses and in-person complex and challenging confir- overall confirmation campaign testimony when requested. In mation process. These volun- with a focus on Cabinet confirma- interviews conducted by the teers are commonly referred to tions. The Biden transition team Center, Senate staff members as “sherpas.” The Center updated implemented this recommenda- elaborated on this point, indi- our sherpa “checklist” from 2016, tion, setting up a confirmation cating that committees seek which explains the role and key management team that oversaw to stress the importance of an milestones needed to prepare a various navigator teams. ongoing, reciprocal relationship nominee. The Biden transition The Center also proposed with appointees. After the 2020 team chose to refer to the volun- guidance for the structure of indi- election, the Center’s hearing teers supporting presidential vidual navigator teams. The navi- analysis was distributed to the nominees as “navigators,” which is gator acts as the team leader and Biden teams preparing nominees how they are referenced in the rest accompanies the principal to all for their respective positions. of this report. meetings with senators. A navi- For the 2020 transition, the gator team may also include policy The Office of Presidential Center team interviewed former and agency review representa- Personnel is responsible for navigators and former confirma- tives to lead coordination with implementing the majority of tion management team members the president-elect’s immediate an incoming administration’s from past transitions to learn staff to ensure harmonization of talent goals best practices and identify what policy positions in briefing mate- The Center spent significant time they would have done differ- rials. Depending on the nominee, ently. Those individuals said speaking with former Office of it could also be useful to assign Presidential Personnel directors they wished that they had inte- a communications representa- grated the navigator teams more and White House senior staff tive, administrative assistant and to learn of challenges and best fully into the transition opera- personal representative, someone tion, including the appointments practices for the Biden team’s that the nominee knows well and consideration, which built on our and vetting processes, and that is familiar with the nominee’s they had taken a more holistic research from 2016. Ultimately, record and working style. our research pointed to three key approach to confirmations, Building on our work from combining Senate, personnel, areas which should be addressed 2016, we analyzed and catego- as early as possible during the legal, opposition research and rized questions from the Senate communications skills into one post-election period: PPO lead- confirmation hearings of the two ership and staff, the mission of overall confirmation effort. most recent officials confirmed The Center compiled recom- the office and decision-making for each of the selected positions. processes between PPO, the White mendations for a more inclusive An overview of the hearing anal- confirmation team operation House and agency leadership. ysis project with the list of posi- The Center recommended to support nominees that were tions analyzed and significant adopted by the Biden transition appointing a PPO director with a topics covered in the hearings is close personal relationship with team. These recommendations available here. The Center shared include establishing a confir- the president. Historically, an this analysis with the Biden tran- individual who has already estab- mation management team to sition’s legislative affairs team in oversee the confirmation process, lished trust and understanding October 2020. with the president is in a better standing up navigator teams to While questions from senators lead individual nominees or a position to make the difficult tended to focus on a nominee’s personnel decisions. Addition- group of nominations and having background and significant agen-

LOOKING BACK 11 “You’ve got to be the person that AGENCY REVIEW

says, ‘Okay, here’s my mission to find Agency review involves collecting information about the very best people to serve this each major department and agency and providing insights that will be useful to the new administration president who are the most qualified as it assumes power and pursues its policy agenda. The Center assisted the Biden transition team by and are here to serve something sharing data and resources collected through the greater than themselves.’ And that is Partnership’s on-the-ground work at agencies, providing information about best practices and the most critical thing that I tried to lessons learned from previous agency review teams, really hone in with my team.” and offering advice for the onboarding of new team members. In addition, the Center worked closely Liza Wright, former director of the PPO under President with career officials and agencies to prepare briefing George W. Bush, Transition Lab podcast materials and establish best practices for engaging with the Biden transition team should there be a new administration, based on our insights from 2016 and ally, continuity is important because it impacts the close engagement with the Biden team to date. administration’s ability to quickly get individuals into We created organizational charts for 63 agencies, political positions. The Center encouraged the Biden as well as the White House and the Executive team to seek a one-to-two-year commitment from Office of the President, representing about 90% of the director to stay in the role. political appointees The PPO generally has been under resourced financially and in terms of staffing because of To allow the transition team to analyze the personnel competing demands within the White House. For requirements and set their strategy for agency example, the Obama PPO had 43 full-time employees review, we created organizational charts for each with additional volunteers during the first quarter of agency listed in the 2008 Obama transition team’s 2009, and submitted 191 nominations to the Senate, chart of agency review teams. With no comprehen- appointed 399 individuals to Schedule C positions sive government-wide resource available that has and 63 to non-Senate confirmed senior executive information on each agency’s operations, political jobs. To increase the number of appointments in appointments and staffing, these charts included: the early days, the Center recommended that the Biden team explore innovative ways to augment its • Current agency organization. personnel staff and allocate more PPO funding. • Pre-2017 and current organizational chart After the inauguration, the PPO’s main responsi- comparison and analysis. bilities involve the recruitment, vetting and hiring of • Agency budgets and number of personnel. thousands of political appointees. However, we recom- mended that the office also should assume a talent • Agency total appointments by appointment type. management role. This will require the administration • Appointments and total personnel by office. to hire PPO staff with a variety of skills and knowledge, • Priority organizational issues raised in the including recruitment and talent management experi- fiscal 2021 budget. ence. Our recommendations include that PPO estab- lish a separate team to manage appointee onboarding, We combined data and information from across training and development, succession planning and seven resources, including the 2016 Plum Book, the offboarding in partnership with agencies. Fiscal 2021 Agency Congressional Budget Justification We also recommended that the president-elect and the President’s Fiscal 2021 Budget. When agency vest the PPO director with significant authority to organizational charts or other key data were not publicly take the lead on vetting and recruitment of appoin- available, we conducted interviews with former agency tees. Defining this role early on and communicating leaders to create comparable information. this clearly to the White House staff, agency leaders These charts provided an invaluable roadmap for and their teams will enable the PPO to execute an the Biden agency review teams, as well as for their efficient appointments process. personnel and navigator teams.

12 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE The Center provided resources and former agency executives, • What organization and and data regarding prior the Center learned that nearly processes are needed for transitions, COVID-19 implications all agencies created unclassified focused decision-making and security clearance process to briefing materials for review team during the transition? inform the Biden transition team’s members. Only a handful of agen- • How will you ensure agency review work cies from the intelligence commu- ongoing transition planning nity planned to provide limited To inform the transition team’s cohesiveness with campaign classified briefings to review leadership? approach to structuring and team members. Previous transi- staffing the agency review work, tion teams have dual-hatted those • How will you integrate the Center conducted research individuals – having them prepare campaign personnel into the on former agency review team materials on more than one agency post-election transition, and leaders. In 2008, nearly every to decrease the number of team how will you communicate agency review team leader had members who need to obtain that plan? prior government or federal clearances for the post-election experience, with over half of the agency review work. Armed with Additionally, we prepared key team leaders possessing experi- this knowledge, the Biden tran- objectives to inform the setup of ence in their assigned agencies. sition team moved forward with this workstream. The four objec- Subsequently, 55% of agency staffing their agency review teams. tives were: review team leaders went on to work in the Obama administra- • Ensure various components tion. Among those individuals, PRESIDENT-ELECT of the transition are properly about half took on roles in the SUPPORT tracked and coordinated. agencies they reviewed. In the • Provide the president-elect end, 25 review team leads (20% of Preparing the president-elect to with the proper team and total) were nominated by Obama effectively assume the role of pres- minimize conflict as the to serve in Senate-confirmed ident requires significant plan- transition integrates with the positions in 2009 and 2010. ning and decision-making. The campaign and expands. We knew the coronavirus 2020–21 presidential transition pandemic would have an impact • Provide logistical support for cycle presented many obstacles, the president-elect, the first on the agency review process. especially regarding post-elec- Since the transition team could lady-elect, the vice president- tion planning with the pandemic, elect and their families. not legally speak with agency the possibility of delayed election staff until after the election, the results and navigating remote • Engage the public and key Center gathered data and insights work environments. The Center constituencies to execute the for 38 agencies, including 10 Cabi- provided resources and recom- shift from campaigning to net-level departments and 28 mendations on this workstream governing. other priority agencies through during the summer of 2020. To support these objectives, conversations and publicly the Center conducted research available information on their The president-elect needs a on the timing of personnel COVID-19 procedures. At the cohesive plan for the 78 days announcements, past presi- time we compiled this informa- between the election and dent-elect schedules and public tion in mid-September 2020, 39% inauguration engagement. Historically, there of agencies were not conducting have been notable operational in-person meetings. Knowing that the president- elect’s actions and messages will issues associated with convening The Center also examined the multiple stakeholders to support security classifications required shape the launch of a new admin- istration, we set out to compile the president-elect. The Center for team members to participate in examined and categorized these agency briefings that would occur key questions for the Biden tran- sition team’s consideration: issues into the following buckets: post-election, and specifically external stakeholder engage- which agencies would require ment, post-election informa- security clearances and at what • How do you want to use the 78-day transition period to tion flow and president-elect level. Through discussions with schedule and logistics. many agency transition directors prepare for day one?

LOOKING BACK 13 POLICY ONBOARDING

Executive actions and midnight regulations affect The Center facilitated multiple onboarding sessions a new administration’s ability to govern effectively for the Biden transition team that focused on the overall transition process. In each session, we It is important for the president-elect to create discussed key transition milestones, the legal frame- a process to quickly issue new executive orders work for the transition and the two largest work- once in office. In August, we completed a study on streams – presidential appointments and agency executive actions and midnight regulations from review. Ample time for questions and discussion previous administrations to provide background was also included. for the Biden transition as they considered their first actions in office. We reported on the number The Center organized onboarding sessions for of executive actions each president initiated during agency review team leaders and members the first 100 days. Clinton had 61, Bush had 64, Obama had 68 and Trump had 90, a 32% increase The onboarding sessions for agency review teams over Obama’s total. consisted of content detailing federal resources and With respect to midnight regulations, it was clear the access agency review members should expect to that regulations promulgated by previous adminis- receive, as well as lessons learned from past agency trations in their last year in office were far greater review team members. Specifically, we emphasized than prior years. For example, the Obama admin- the following practices: istration’s regulatory activity in the last year was about 25% higher than prior years. • Create briefing materials for various audiences, We suggested a roadmap on the approach and such as budget, policy and personnel teams. timelines for preparing executive actions and strat- • Catalogue all regulations from the previous egies for overturning midnight regulations. This was administration. based on several interviews with experts who served • Have an HR liaison on the team to handle in previous administrations and on Capitol Hill. onboarding issues. • Make your introduction to career professionals a priority. The last recommendation was repeated consis- tently by the experts. Career officials do an excel- lent job of facilitating transitions by producing fact-based information. They are committed public servants who likely worked through prior adminis- trations and have prepared for several transitions. Building trust and rapport with career officials is critical to ensuring the success of agency transition efforts as well as the administration’s. To assist the Biden agency review team members, we invited several former career transition directors to share their insights and advice on the process. “If you have ever worked in the The Center produced numerous webinars for those government, you realize how interested in serving in the incoming administration

critically important career Following the election, the Center hosted webinars employees are…. They are the ones for more than 1,300 former campaign staff with tips and resources on the application process for polit- who know how to get things done. ical appointees and serving in government. Pulling from our ready-to-serve.org resources, the content Lisa Brown, co-chair of agency review for the included a broad overview of the appointments 2008 Obama transition, on the Transition Lab podcast

14 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE process that largely targeted those who would likely courses for new and seasoned appointees on critical have had little or no prior federal work experience. topics such as the federal budget process, ethics and The Center has continued offering its resources optics and working with the career workforce. and onboarding for political appointees through its Ready to Govern program, which includes 11

The Incumbent Administration

WHITE HOUSE

To fill the gaps in both publicly available and histor- team was preparing for their first term in office, we ical resources on second terms, we developed infor- provided significant support to them throughout mation on the need for effective planning to ensure 2016. This time around we provided behind-the- adequate time was spent on personal and policy scenes advice and shared historical data and prece- matters ahead of an election victory. In a report enti- dence throughout the transition period to support tled, “Effective transition planning can help presi- the planning efforts. The White House prioritized dents have a successful year one and year five,” we these three areas in their transition preparation: found that second-term presidents typically experi- policy, personnel and execution of the Presidential ence about a 43% turnover rate of high-level appoin- Transition Act. In January of 2020, Liddell convened tees during the first six months of their new term. the White House deputies for an off-site to outline A second report, “Breaking the fifth-year curse,” the groundwork for the policy initiatives for 2021. produced in collaboration with the University Liddell aimed for the White House’s legislative of Virginia’s Miller Center, expanded on how a work to flow from 2020 to 2021 and not be a signif- second-term administration can plan for expected icant disruption. In addition, Liddell believed that challenges. The report shows that a second term provides an opportunity for a president to rethink key strategic plans for optimizing the White House and Cabinet, as well as policy priorities. Our conversations with the Trump administra- “You’ve been through a transition tion began in early 2020, when we met with Chris once; you know that the stakes of Liddell, deputy chief of staff to President Trump, to discuss ways to approach a second term. Liddell the game are as high as they get. was later tapped to lead the administration’s tran- And you know that at the end of sition efforts and spent significant time preparing for multiple election outcomes – a clear victory the day that personnel are key to for President Trump, a clear victory for Vice Pres- ident Biden, a disputed result for a short period making sure that you can execute of time and a disputed result for a long period of against those challenges.” time. The Trump administration, with four years in office, did not need the same level of support as the Former Obama White House Chief of Staff Biden team. However, when the Trump transition Denis McDonough, Transition Lab podcast

LOOKING BACK 15 high turnover in year five would allow the admin- FEDERAL AGENCIES WITH istration to streamline the structure and processes in the White House to increase efficiency. While the CRITICAL ROLES IN Trump administration was not able to implement PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITIONS their second term plans, they took the necessary steps to set up their next term for success by plan- ning well in advance of Election Day. The Center worked closely with three government agencies that have key transition responsibilities: The transition law lays out a series of the pre-election the General Services Administration, the Justice steps requiring the incumbent president to prepare Department and the Office of Government Ethics. for a potential transfer of power General Services Administration The Presidential Transition Act requires that an incumbent administration take the necessary Starting in 2019, we worked with GSA’s political pre- and post-election planning efforts to prepare and career officials responsible for the presidential for a potential successor. As described previously, transition and developed open channels of commu- Chris Liddell began scenario planning to ensure the nication with Allison Brigati, GSA’s deputy adminis- Trump administration was prepared for many elec- trator. We also forged strong working relationships tion results. Liddell did an exceptional job coordi- with Federal Transition Coordinator Mary Gibert, nating the Trump White House’s efforts to imple- Deputy Federal Transition Coordinator Dorsy ment the pre-election requirements of the law. Yoffie and Director of Pre- and Post-election Activ- The Trump White House followed the pre-elec- ities Elizabeth “Liz” Cain. This highly professional tion requirements of the law by establishing the and competent team provided exceptional guidance Agency Transition Directors Council and the White and steady leadership throughout a very difficult House Transition Coordinating Council in April transition. 2020. The agency council began meeting regularly We held biweekly meetings with Gibert and starting in May and the White House council met her team starting in May to discuss agency transi- in July to provide members with an update on tran- tion issues and to coordinate topics between their sition preparations. The Center’s Agency Transi- agency director’s council meetings and our Agency tion Roundtables supported this process by offering Transition Roundtables. agency transition directors additional transition Office of Government Ethics and the Department guidance. of Justice

We worked with two outstanding government offi- cials who have been collaborating with the Part- nership for many years. Both were essential to our understanding of the paperwork required from political appointees. Shelley Finlayson, OGE’s chief of staff, provided countless briefings on the role that the ethics office plays in reviewing financial disclosure information required of Senate-con- “President (George W.) Bush was firmed nominees and determining whether or not a potential appointee faces any ethical issues. We also ready to have a very good had frequent discussions with Lee Lofthus, assis- transition should he have lost tant attorney general for administration for the Department of Justice, on the department’s role in reelection (in 2004)… He was security clearances and background checks. Lofthus prepared to pass the baton if he provided helpful information on the responsibilities of the various clearance agencies. had to.”

Former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, Talking Transitions event

16 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE The delayed GSA ascertainment hindered the The Center produced materials to highlight the official transition process, preventing access to costs of the transition delay on national security critical transition resources and public health

The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 requires We led a national dialogue on GSA ascertainment that the GSA administrator ascertain the “apparent and provided the media and key transition audi- successful candidates” of the election before the ences with information on the negative effects of official transition can begin. The ascertainment a delayed transition. This included a report listing decision green lights the entire federal govern- the top 15 costs of a delayed transition to reinforce ment’s preparation for the handover of power. This the importance of quick ascertainment. The Center includes releasing millions of dollars in transition also created a podcast, blog posts and fact sheets for funding and allowing the incoming administration media outlets and the public. The Center director access to current government officials. and the Partnership CEO were quoted in numerous Four days after the Nov. 3, 2020 election, the publications and interviewed on television and Associated Press and the major news networks, radio broadcasts to explain the implications of the including Fox News, CNN, ABC News, CBS News delay. Two days into the delayed ascertainment, and NBC News, called the election for Biden. While we interviewed David Barram, former GSA admin- GSA traditionally ascertains the winner shortly after istrator from 1996 to 2000, on our Transition Lab the election, GSA Administrator Emily Murphy podcast. Barram explained why the delayed ascer- waited until Nov. 23. The delayed ascertainment tainment in 2000 during the presidential recount in impeded the official transition process, preventing Florida was not comparable to the one occurring in any conversations between the Biden transition’s 2020. The Center continued to create reports on the agency review teams and federal agency officials, topic, including how a delay in the formal transition and delaying the disbursement of federal funds. can hurt national security and how it can slow the The delay also prevented the FBI from expediting confirmation process for key leadership positions. post-election security clearances. Following these Most notably, our blog entitled, “What the 9/11 challenges, the Center will look closely at the statue Commission Found: Slow Confirmations Imperil that specifies the ascertainment process to identify U.S. National Security,” showed that the delayed improvements for future transitions. transition in 2000 resulted in slower nominations and dragged-out confirmations. Ultimately, this meant that critical national security positions were empty on the day of the 9/11 attacks – nearly 43% of the top 123 Senate-confirmed positions at the departments of Defense, State and Justice. Following ascertainment, the Center highlighted the importance of mitigating the damages caused by the delay. We posted an after-ascertainment report detailing the resources made available to the tran- “All these media outlets that call sition team and answering frequently asked ques- the election called it for Joe Biden. tions. These resources helped our partners and the public track the impact of the delay and understand And as I said earlier, for Trump to upcoming milestones and developments. pull it off, he would have to prove these unfounded allegations he’s making about voter fraud. And I just don’t see it happening… I think the winner is pretty clear.”

Former GSA Administrator David Barram before the GSA’s delayed ascertainment decision, Transition Lab Podcast

LOOKING BACK 17 SUPPORTING AGENCY TRANSITION PERSONNEL

Every four years, agencies prepare for a possible Guide for the 2020 cycle. This is the only resource new administration by creating briefing materials designed to prepare agency transition directors to help onboard new political appointees. The and their teams for the transition process. In 2020, teams charged with creating the resources are led the guide was downloaded from our website more by senior career officials. Since turnover is common than 1,500 times and was required reading for new in these positions between presidential elections, agency transition directors. the Center helped fill the gap by sharing best prac- We are now collecting best practices and insights tices from previous transition cycles. As part of this from the 2020 transition to better inform our effort, the Center helped build relationships among resources and sessions in 2024. the agency transition officials.

Agency Transition Roundtables prepared officials for each milestone during the presidential transition

Building on our efforts in 2016, the Center brought together career officials designated to lead agency transition planning at our Agency Transition Round- table sessions held on a monthly basis between June 2020 and February 2021. More than 100 agency officials from 65 agencies regularly attended the sessions, an increase of about 100% for individual attendance compared to 2016, and a 50% increase in the number of agencies. The discussions delivered invaluable informa- tion to agency transition directors and other team members on best practices and pain points to avoid. We hosted a series of panels of former agency tran- sition directors, former transition team leaders and other experts. Attendees received tips on successful agency transition strategies, including building teams, drafting succession plans and assembling briefing books. Federal Transition Coordinator Mary Gibert provided frequent updates on transition require- ments and milestones. Guest speakers from the GSA, OGE, OPM and the National Archives and Records Administration provided information on offboarding and onboarding political appointees, and discussed their processes for assisting agencies with ethics, personnel issues and records management. Agency review team leaders from 2008 through 2016 advised agencies on how to plan for initial engagement with transition teams. In early December, attendees met representatives from the Biden transition team and heard about their review team expectations. Our final roundtable prior to Inauguration Day focused on preparation for the new administration. In addition, we updated our Agency Transition

18 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE Congress

Congress has two overarching roles in presiden- their new jobs. tial transitions. First, Congress establishes the legal As we have in the past, the Center will gather framework for transitions and provides funding for lessons learned from the 2020-21 transition to deter- activities under that framework. Second, through mine what went well and what needs to be improved. its advice and consent role, the Senate considers the During the coming months, we will interview dozens nominations for approximately 1,200 government of individuals involved with the transition and will positions requiring confirmation. A smooth, expedi- share insights and recommendations with Congress. tious confirmation process is critical to the stability of the government, especially to ensure national The Periodically Listing Updates to Management security during vulnerable times for the country. (PLUM) Act of 2020 The Center serves as the premier source of The Plum Book is the most comprehensive source nonpartisan information and resources for members about officials serving in the federal government. It of Congress and committee staff on both sides of the contains information on more than 4,000 political aisle on presidential transitions and the appointment appointees – 1,200 of whom are subject to Senate and confirmation processes. confirmation – along with thousands of other jobs filled Presidential Transition Enhancement Act by senior career officials in the federal civil service. Unfortunately, the Plum Book has been produced Since passage of the Presidential Transition Act of largely the same way since 1952. The list is published 1963, Congress has established and regularly updated by Congress in late November or early December of a framework for presidential transitions. During the every presidential election year and provides a snap- past decade, the Partnership has played a signifi- shot of the political positions and appointees who cant role in three updates to the law, most recently held those jobs that summer.5 However, the list is working with Congress to help shape the bipartisan outdated by the time of its release, diminishing its use Presidential Transition Enhancement Act, which to the transition team and the general public. incorporated lessons learned from the 2016 transi- At the beginning of the 116th Congress, the Part- tion cycle. The measure was signed into law in early nership recommended to the House Committee on 2020. Oversight and Reform and the Senate Committee on The Center provided technical assistance to Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that congressional committee staff as they drafted key legislation be approved to create an online, regu- provisions of the legislation, including offering larly updated Plum Book with downloadable and suggestions to clarify ambiguities and build on best machine-readable data. Both committees advanced practices. The new law requires agency representa- legislation, specifically the Periodically Listing tives on the Agency Transition Directors Council to Updates to Management Act of 2020 (PLUM Act), be senior career employees. It also requires that by although the legislation did not reach final passage.6 Sept. 15 of a presidential election year, every agency We will work with the bill’s sponsors in the new must have a succession plan in place for senior polit- Congress as they revisit the legislation. ical positions so that agencies are prepared for the turnover that will occur during the transition to a new administration or a second term. It also ensures that GSA will provide transition teams with office space and other support for 60 days after the inau- guration in order to help the transition team focus on 5 The 2020 Plum Book was released on December 30, 2020. recruiting and hiring in the early days of the admin- 6 S.3896, introduced by Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) and H.R.7107, istration while White House personnel settle into introduced by Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).

LOOKING BACK 19 Vacancies Act Reform Engagement with Capitol Hill Staff

Vacancies in political positions that require Senate The Center plays an important role on Capitol Hill confirmations are a challenge that have affected all as an educational resource on good government recent administrations. During the Trump adminis- issues. At the request of the House Transparency tration, there was a greater reliance on filling some Caucus, the Center hosted a webinar in September of these roles with acting officials for lengthy periods for congressional staff on the presidential transition. of time, bypassing the Senate confirmation process. The event had about 40 participants from 23 congres- The Center released resources explaining the sional offices. We explained transition legal require- Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, describing the ments and discussed the various entities involved in much-needed updates to the law and examining the transition, such as the presidential transition teams, wide array of presidentially appointed positions left the federal agencies and the White House as well as without Senate-confirmed nominees. The Center key transition workstreams such as agency review, also pointed out the ambiguities of the law, including policy and personnel. We also highlighted resources problems regarding leadership succession. that Congress can use to track a transition’s prog- Sharing observations based on our years of moni- ress, such as our Biden Political Appointee Tracker. toring the confirmation process, the Center provided The Center plans to continue its engagement feedback to congressional staff as they drafted with congressional offices, especially regarding legislation to update the vacancies law. Legislation Senate confirmation hearings. We developed a introduced in the House would clarify that the law series of questions for the 17 Senate committees applies when an official is fired, establish time- that consider presidential nominees. The questions lines for the reporting of vacancies, and ensure that focus on topics regarding the nominee’s experience vacancies in inspectors general positions are filled managing large organizations and budgets as well in an acting capacity by officials from elsewhere in as their leadership competencies. This initiative the IG community.7 is designed to encourage senators and nominees The Center believes several other improvements to focus on the management aspect of serving in a are needed, including clarification on who quali- high-level role instead of solely on policy issues. fies as a “first assistant” under the law; overturning the 2017 Supreme Court decision that upended the interpretation of presidents of both parties that indi- viduals can serve in an acting capacity while also being nominated for the position; and reevaluating the practice of dual- or even triple-hatting officials so that they are performing more than one role in a Senate-confirmed position at the same time. The Center also supports language that would ensure that designation of “first assistants” aligns with agency succession plans required by the Presiden- tial Transition Enhancement Act of 2019.

7 H.R.6689, The Accountability for Acting Officials Act, introduced by Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA).

20 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE Prospective Political Appointees

Over the years, many appointees have said they did READY TO SERVE not have access to critical information necessary to navigate the political appointments process. Those In August 2020, the Center launched Ready to Serve, resources have been limited and scattered in different a comprehensive, one-stop resource for those who locations. This has made it particularly difficult for want to serve in a presidential administration, but non-traditional candidates without insider knowl- who lack the know-how to competitively apply or edge, networks and prior federal experience, and has complete the extensive paperwork. The audience discouraged qualified individuals. includes: In early 2020, we conducted interviews with more than a dozen political and career senior government • Private sector leaders with no government officials from the past four administrations, including experience. those from the Office of Presidential Personnel, agency transition directors and White House liai- • State and local officials. sons. Interviewees gave advice to assist aspiring • Campaign staff. appointees and helped us identify resource gaps. The • Academics. Center left these conversations with the goal of tack- ling two main objectives: better prepare prospective • Career government employees. candidates to help them move through the process • Former appointees. quickly and increase diversity in future administra- tions by increasing access to key resources. To best serve a wide range of audiences with a varying level of government knowledge, we compiled information and materials in a variety of formats, including website content, links to external resources, blogs, podcasts and webinars. From its launch in August 2020 through January 2021, the Ready to Serve site has provided information to more than 164,000 visitors. With Ready to Serve, the Center is demystifying the political appointments process and enabling access to more prospective applicants who would like to serve in a presidential “What guided me and guided my administration. career was a passion…for the issues. And quite frankly, [for] the ability to be at tables [for] those that couldn’t be at those tables, I could be there to represent them. I could be there to be [their] voice[s]…”

Melody Barnes, former director of White House Domestic Policy Council under President Barack Obama, Transition Lab podcast

LOOKING BACK 21 RESOURCES

Fundamental information and guidance on political “I think what the candidates can appointments do that is very important is… Ready to Serve provides general information about government positions and key steps in the appoint- understand the process upfront ments process. The site offers a number of tools to and the various requirements that help individuals learn more about potential posi- tions, including a self-assessment to help determine if exist and the kind of information federal service is the right fit andposition descriptions for over 400 roles including primary responsibilities, that they need to gather, and then experience, competency requirements and pay. complete the forms in a prompt, Ready to Serve was inspired by requests for support that we received in 2012 from Gov. Mike Leavitt, complete and accurate way.” chairman of the Romney transition team. Histori- cally, transition teams are overwhelmed by outreach Leslie Kiernan, former deputy White House counsel, Transition Lab podcast from prospective appointees before the election even takes place. Applicants want to know where to apply, how to best match their skills with the administra- tion’s needs and how to navigate the complex federal hiring process. The Center created Ready to Serve as a resource for transition teams to refer interested individuals to while juggling other timely demands.

Security clearance, ethics and financial disclosure forms

The main factors that frequently hold up the polit- ical appointment process are ethics issues and the proper completion of background checks, security clearances, and financial disclosure forms. Based on the guidance from former appointees and vetting experts, the Ready to Serve website offers resources to prospective appointees on completing the forms and addressing possible ethics issues by providing tips and advice, linking key forms and sharing easy-to-understand overviews. We also produced several blogs and a three-part webinar series on these important topics.

Sharing content through webinars

As mentioned in the transition team section of this report, we hosted webinars for targeted audiences, including professional organizations for diversity groups, technology-focused individuals and colleges and universities. These live sessions allowed us to answer questions in real time and incorporate those questions into additional resources. In total, we reached more than 2,000 individuals across 11 sessions between September 2020 and January 2021.

22 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE Research and Experts

The Center used its research and extensive knowledge Washington Post launched a new tracker to follow to educate the public, the media, Congress and other the progress of President Biden’s nominees. Posi- key stakeholders about the importance and intrica- tions included in the Biden Political Appointee cies of the transition. This was accomplished through Tracker include Cabinet secretaries, deputy and a comprehensive oral history on transitions through assistant secretaries, chief financial officers, general our Transition Lab podcast, engagement with tradi- counsels, heads of agencies, ambassadors and other tional media, the use of social media, our reports and critical leadership jobs. a number of events. The Center also engaged subject- matter expects to bolster our knowledge and inform Historical Documents our research. The Center’s Publication and Resource Library includes a collection of publicly available docu- RESEARCH ments from past transitions. These documents are available for transition teams, journalists and other key stakeholders to reference, and to inform The Center’s collection of information, expertise and contemporary transition efforts and developments. documents on transitions is unparalleled. Combining The library includes nearly 100 documents from original research with historical documents, the administrations and transition teams dating back Center has become the leading authority on presiden- to 1980, including resources such as ethical codes tial transitions and has drawn attention to transition of conduct, legal agreements between the tran- issues among key audiences. sition team and the White House, official memo- Transition Lab Podcast randa providing guidance, fundraising reports and transition documents, all of which can be used as Launched in January 2020, the Transition Lab templates for future transition teams. The Center podcast has served as a unique oral history of pres- is in the process of collecting and adding additional idential transitions. Across 48 episodes, we inter- historical documents to this collection. viewed subject-matter experts and those with first-hand knowledge of the unique process that happens every four years from all modern transi- tions – Jimmy Carter through Joe Biden. Through this effort, we were able to collect more than four decades of wisdom and mistakes to inform future transitions, as well as reach a wide audience.

Political Appointee Tracker

In 2016, the Partnership launched a first-of-its-kind political appointments tracker in conjunction with The Washington Post to follow the nominations, confirmations and resignations of President Trump’s appointees for more than 750 key positions. During the four years of the Trump administration, the tracker was the preeminent source of information about political appointments and vacancies. In December 2020, the Partnership and The

LOOKING BACK 23 NETWORKS OF SUPPORT

The Center has consistently engaged with other senior White House officials, and those with exper- groups and individuals committed to building smooth tise on vetting appointees and the Senate confirma- and effective presidential transitions. In 2020, we tion process. assembled multiple coalitions of transition experts Over the course of the year, the fellows shared and stakeholders to better inform our work and raise their experiences and ideas, participated in meet- public awareness about the importance of the transi- ings, collaborated with the Center to create practical tion process. tools and templates, and spoke publicly about the importance of transition planning. The fellows have Center for Presidential Transition Advisory Board helped strengthen the Center’s work on transition The Center for Presidential Transition Advisory operations, appointments, president-elect support Board consists of a bipartisan group of former public and the agency review process, both behind-the- servants: Josh Bolten, former chief of staff to Presi- scenes and through public activities. A list of our dent George W. Bush; Mike Leavitt, former governor 2020 fellows is included at the end of this report. of Utah and former chairman of the Romney Readi- Transition Management Network ness Project; Mack McLarty, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton; and Penny Pritzker, former The Transition Management Network is a collection secretary of Commerce under President Barack of good government organizations set up to support Obama. All four board members brought signifi- a safe and effective presidential transition. This cant transition experience and expertise to their network was established in 2016 and identifiedsix roles and have publicly elevated the importance of management priorities for successful policy imple- the Center’s work. Through the 2020-21 transition mentation for the incoming Trump administration. cycle, they provided advice and insights on how to In 2020, members reconvened to focus on sharing approach complicated challenges and maximize information about respective transition efforts and potential opportunities. connect on issues of mutual interest. Participating The advisory board also served as surrogates on organizations, listed at the end of this report, met the importance of transition planning individually bimonthly and discussed a range of priority topics, and as a group. In January 2020, they released an identifying the areas in which each organization’s open letter to encourage all presidential candidates agenda overlapped. These issues included sourcing to begin preparing either for a new administration diverse talent, appointee preparation, effective or a second term. After the presidential election was government management, support for transition called for Biden by all major media outlets, the advi- teams and ways to improve center of government sory board released a statement urging the Trump agencies, including the White House and the Office administration to immediately begin the post-elec- of Management and Budget. Members will continue tion transition process and the Biden team to take to meet in 2021, identifying process improvements full advantage of the resources available under the for future transitions, supporting the new admin- Presidential Transition Act. This statement was istration’s priorities for management reform and picked up by multiple media outlets and was one developing a shared agenda for collective impact. of the first bipartisan acknowledgements of the election results and substantive calls for the formal transition process to begin.

Center Fellows

In January 2020, we assembled the Center for Presi- dential Transition Fellows, a community of about 40 experts with first-hand knowledge and experience on issues related to presidential transitions and serving in government. This bipartisan group included senior officials with experience running transitions, former

24 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE Conclusion

ith little continuity of knowledge across have been a success without our dedicated staff, volun- administrations, the Partnership for Public teers and supporters, who contributed to making this W Service’s Center for Presidential Transition vision a reality. has become the go-to resource for nonpartisan counsel, As we look toward the next presidential transition, capacity-building and support for presidential transi- we will continue to increase our knowledge, expand tions. Throughout 2020, we were able to build trusted our resources and push for legislative improvements to relationships and provide critical support to three main ensure future administrations are as prepared as possible audiences – the Biden transition team, Trump adminis- to lead on day one. tration and career agency officials. Our efforts would not

LOOKING BACK 25 Acknowledgements

The Center gratefully acknowledges the following contributors for their time and expertise throughout the 2020 presidential transition cycle. Without them, this work would not have been a success.

CENTER FOR PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TEAM

David Marchick, former Center director Dan Hyman Ann Orr, acting Center director Emma Jones Jaqlyn Alderete Ashton Kunkle-Mates Dan Blair Austin Laufersweiler James-Christian Blockwood Livi Logan-Wood Katie Bryan Catherine Manfre Shannon Carroll Andrew Parco Bob Cohen Amanda Patarino Christina Condreay Audrey Pfund Troy Cribb Chantelle Renn Loren DeJonge Schulman Lucas Rodriguez Neal Desai Katherine Rohloff Mat Hernandez Kristine Simmons Carter Hirschhorn Kayla Shanahan Paul Hitlin Max Stier Meredith Huddle Tina Sung Jill Hyland Alex Tippett Amelia Ziegler

SUPPORTERS

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has been invaluable to our success by serving as our anchor partner on the transition and we are grateful for their continued support over the past 10 years. BCG also dedicated several highly skilled consultants to collaborate on this effort.

We also thank these individuals and organizations for their support:

Anonymous IBM Bloomberg Philanthropies McKinsey & Company Craig Newmark Philanthropies Meg and Bennett Goodman Democracy Fund Microsoft Diana Farrell and Scott Pearson Pritzker Innovation Fund John Yochelson Softbank Group

26 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE 2020 CENTER FOR PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ADVISORY BOARD

Josh Bolten Mack McLarty Mike Leavitt Penny Pritzker

2020 CENTER FOR PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION FELLOWS

Yohannes Abraham Andrew Mayock Tim Adams Jonathan McBride Rich Bagger Meg McLaughlin Charles Borden Ed Meier Lisa Brown Asma Mirza Jonathan Burks Carlos Monje Geoff Burr Ed Moy Sally Cluthe Ann O’Leary David Eagles Bill Palatucci Michèle Flournoy Mae Podesta John Gentile Bob Rizzi Clay Johnson Heather Samuelson Katy Kale Linda Springer Leslie Kiernan Mona Sutphen Gail Lovelace Kathryn Tenpas Chris Lu KP Trueblood Brian Waidmann

TRANSITION MANAGEMENT NETWORK

American Council for Technology - Industry Advisory National Academy of Public Administration Council (ACT-IAC) Professional Services Council The Brookings Institution Results for America IBM Center for The Business of Government Senior Executives Association The Leadership Council for Women in National Tech Talent Project Security Truman Center for National Policy University of Virginia’s Miller Center Truman National Security Project MITRE Corporation White House Transition Project

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