The White House said late Tuesday it had received a memorandum of understanding from President-elect Donald Trump, a legally required process that had been delayed amid a reorganization of Trump transition aides.
The MOU, allowing for a formal communications channel between the current and incoming administrations, names Vice President-elect Mike Pence as head of the transition process.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, one of the president-elect’s most significant early endorsers, had previously signed a parallel document designating himself as the transition’s principal before he and several of his senior aides were replaced this week by Pence. The shuffling of aides temporarily paused communication between the White House and Trump’s aides.
Now, Trump’s transition aides–the so-called “landing teams”–will begin liaising as soon as Friday with current federal agency employees.
Pence, newly installed atop the transition effort, has begun to purge lobbyists from the landing teams tasked with constructing and staffing the new Trump administration, according to a report Wednesday by Fox News.
