Presidential transition of Barack Obama
The presidential transition of Barack Obama began when he won the United States presidential election on November 4, 2008, and became the president-elect. Obama was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 15, 2008. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 8, 2009, and the transition ended when Obama was inaugurated at noon EST on January 20, 2009.
Outgoing President George W. Bush (left) and President-elect Barack Obama (right) meet in the Oval Office of the White House as part of the presidential transition
Living presidents George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and President-elect Barack Obama at the White House Oval Office on January 7, 2009
President-elect Obama walking with President Bush during their November 10 meeting
Laura Bush meets with Michelle Obama.
United States presidential transition
In the United States, a presidential transition is the process during which the president-elect of the United States prepares to take over the administration of the federal government of the United States from the incumbent president. Though planning for transition by a non-incumbent candidate can start at any time before a presidential election and in the days following, the transition formally starts when the General Services Administration (GSA) declares an “apparent winner” of the election, thereby releasing the funds appropriated by Congress for the transition, and continues until inauguration day, when the president-elect takes the oath of office, at which point the powers, immunities, and responsibilities of the presidency are legally transferred to the new president.
President-elect Jimmy Carter with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General George S. Brown and the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a visit to The Pentagon during presidential transition from Ford administration to Carter administration, December 17, 1976.
President Clinton and President–elect Bush depart the White House for the inaugural ceremony at the United States Capitol on January 20, 2001.
President Barack Obama (left) and President-elect Donald Trump (right) meet in the Oval Office of the White House as part of the presidential transition
President Hoover and President–elect Roosevelt riding together to the United States Capitol prior to the March 4, 1933 presidential inauguration.