Maryland’s Jamie Raskin says Trump hasn’t signed documents for ‘orderly transition’ if elected
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin said Wednesday that Republican former President Donald Trump hasn’t signed key documents that other presidential nominees have adhered to in the past to assure an “orderly transition of power” if they are elected.
Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and his party’s ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, wrote the former president on Wednesday urging him “to put the public’s interest in maintaining a properly functioning government above any personal financial or political interests you may perceive in boycotting the official transition law and process.”
Under federal law, major party candidates sign agreements with the federal government to tap into funding from the General Services Administration “to provide suitable office space, staff compensation, and other services associated with the presidential transition process,” according to the Congressional Research Service.
Eligible candidates receiving such support must limit their private transition-related donations to less than $5,000 per donor, according to Raskin’s letter, which was sent to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.
“It appears your decision may be at least partially driven by your intent to circumvent fundraising rules that put limits on private contributions on the transition effort and require public reporting,” said the letter, which was released by the House oversight panel.
It said Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has submitted the documents and that Trump’s refusal to sign “is particularly troubling in light of the fact that he has repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not reply to emails seeking comment.
The letter was first reported by NBC News.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol seeking to block Congress from finalizing the presidential vote count declaring Democrat Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election.
