President-elect Donald Trump‘s transition team is reportedly stalling on signing paperwork agreements with the Biden administration to begin the transition process, delaying the signing of a mandatory ethics pledge vowing to avoid conflicts of interest once sworn in to office.
The Associated Press reported on Saturday Trump’s team has not yet signed agreements to begin the formal transition process. During his first term, Trump took heat from several ethics groups for potential conflicts of interest relating to his businesses and brands. As president and on the campaign trail, Trump and his family’s foreign business ties were under scrutiny.
Trump’s team also has not signed the General Services Administration, which provides logistical services and funds for the transition. A source tells Fwrd Axis News that discussions are still ongoing with the Biden administration regarding the ethics agreement, which is required by law under the Presidential Transition Act, which usually requires the documents to be signed in September.
Trump can still be inaugurated as president in January 2025 if he does not sign the documents. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote a letter and urged the Trump campaign to sign the agreements, saying “federal agencies are unlikely to be able to securely and effectively communicate with your staff, which will endanger ‘the orderly transfer of the executive power’ and threaten our national security.”
Trump’s financial disclosures as a candidate showed that he has continued to make millions off his properties, books and licensing deals. The unsigned documents are already causing concern for many but Trump’s distrust of the government is a key factor as to why they have not been signed, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
The White House said on Saturday that President Joe Biden and Trump are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday morning.
