The 2024 presidential election is just days away now and once America chooses who our next leader will be, it’ll be 77 days until they officially take office. During that time, the winner will get their administration ready to take over from President Joe Biden’s.
What was historically a time of bipartisanship ended up being fraught with tension in 2020. That year, then-President Donald Trump and his allies fought to overturn the election results.
The group falsely claimed Biden’s win was stolen and delayed the transition. Now, a new law will start the transition between administrations sooner, no matter who wins.
Under this new rule, if neither Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris concedes, both will get additional government funds and logistical support to begin the transition.
That means there could potentially be two very different governments waiting in the wings for weeks to take over.
Before the 2022 Presidential Transition Improvement Act became law, the head of the General Services Administration (GSA) had to give the OK. In 2020, the administrator said she couldn’t do that because Trump was still challenging his loss in court.
Now, under the new law, the process must begin five days after the election. This happens even if more than one candidate hasn’t conceded.
The law effectively means the GSA no longer has to give the go-ahead before allowing the candidate or candidates to get transition support services.
It also states services for each candidate will continue until “significant legal challenges” have been “substantially resolved,” or electors from each state meet in mid-December to formally choose an Electoral College winner.
