Trump is running his transition team on secret money

President-elect Donald Trump is keeping secret the names of donors who are funding his transition effort, a break from tradition that could make it impossible to see what interest groups, businesses or wealthy people are helping launch his second term.

Trump has so far declined to sign an agreement with the Biden administration that imposes strict limits on that fundraising in exchange for up to $7.2 million in federal funds earmarked for the transition. By dodging the agreement, Trump can raise unlimited amounts of money from unknown donors to pay for the staff, travel and office space involved in preparing to take over the government.

Trump is the first president-elect to sidestep the restrictions, provoking alarm among ethics experts.

Those seeking to curry favor with the incoming administration now have the opportunity to donate directly to the winning candidate without their names or potential conflicts ever entering the public sphere. And unlike with campaign contributions, foreign nationals are allowed to donate to the transition.

“When the money isn’t disclosed, it’s not clear how much everybody is giving, who is giving it and what they are getting in return for their donations,” said Heath Brown, a professor of public policy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who studies presidential transitions.

Trump’s transition team, led by Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick, has repeatedly said it intends to sign the agreements with the Biden administration.

But it blew past deadlines to do so in September and October, and nothing has indicated progress being made to that end in the two weeks since the election. The White House, which is obliged to offer the agreements to presidential candidates under a federal law known as the Presidential Transition Act, has said it is ready to assist the Trump transition to ensure a smooth handover of power.

On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter to the Biden administration, raising concerns that the Trump transition’s failure to sign the agreements was “uncharted territory” that “threatens the American public.” She asked for an accounting of how the administration was engaging with the Trump transition on the agreements.

“The Trump-Vance transition lawyers continue to constructively engage with the Biden-Harris administration lawyers regarding all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act,” Brian Hughes, a Trump transition spokesperson, said in a statement responding to queries about the status of negotiations with the Biden administration.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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