Presidential transition of Donald Trump
Planning for the presidential transition of Donald Trump, led by then vice president-elect, former governor Mike Pence of Indiana, began before Donald Trump won the United States presidential election on November 8, 2016, and became the president-elect. Trump was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 19, 2016. The transition was formerly led by Chris Christie until he and a number of his supporters were replaced or demoted on November 11. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2017, and the transition ended when Trump was inaugurated at noon EST on January 20, 2017.
Outgoing President Barack Obama (left) and President-elect Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office of the White House as part of the presidential transition
Melania Trump visits Michelle Obama at the White House.
Chart showing agency appointment group leads of the Trump transition.
Retired general Keith Kellogg led the defense "agency action" unit of the transition.
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.