Trump Transition Team Descends Into Chaos As Nobody Wants To Join Administration

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:32 pm

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Donald Trump’s transition team continued its descent into chaos on Tuesday after behind-the-scenes drama and a recent staff shakeup has reportedly stalled the entire process.

According to a report by The Huffington Post, Republicans and Democrats in Washington are now worried that the incoming administration will be “woefully ill-prepared” once Trump takes office in January. These concerns are bolstered by the fact that Trump transition officials were missing in action from a series of important meetings this week.

The report:

The disarray has left agencies virtually frozen, unable to communicate with the people tasked with replacing them and their staff. Trump transition team officials were a no-show at the Pentagon, the Washington Examiner reported. Same goes for the Department of Energy, responsible for keeping the nation’s nuclear weapons safe, where officials had expected members of the Trump transition team on Monday. Ditto for the Department of Transportation. Over at the Justice Department, officials also are still waiting to hear from the Trump team.

The transition turmoil comes after unpopular New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was demoted from his role leading the process and replaced by Vice President-Elect Mike Pence. As of late afternoon on Tuesday, the transition remained on hold because Pence still hadn’t signed off on a memorandum that would allow Trump’s team to communicate with the Obama administration on how to hand over key functions of the government.

According to HuffPo, though, it goes well beyond the failure to sign a piece of paper. It also doesn’t help that many Republicans aren’t willing to assume critical roles on Trump’s team.

More from the report:

The transition dysfunction extends beyond failure to promptly execute a memorandum of understanding. According to several sources close to the Trump transition team and inside the Obama administration, the president elect and his staff have had difficulty finding able-minded Republicans willing to take on critical posts. One Democratic source, who like others would only discuss sensitive talks on condition of anonymity, said transition officials had been informally asking Obama political appointees to recommend Republicans to take over their jobs.

That’s right – Trump is so desperate to have people join his team that he’s seeking the Obama administration’s help in filling roles.

While it’s true that presidential transitions aren’t always flawlessly managed, Trump seems to be bungling his in a way that may be unprecedented. Those who voted for Trump last week may have wanted to “shake things up” in Washington, but it’s likely this wasn’t what they had in mind.

If the new president-elect can’t competently run a transition team and staff his government, why should any of us believe he’ll be able to lead the free world?

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.