Law passed after Trump stalled the peaceful transfer of power could backfire: report

After Donald Trump stalled the peaceful transfer of power in 2020 — blocking President Joe Biden's access to federal funding —Congress took steps to prevent the MAGA hopeful's strategy from working again.

However, Politico reported Sunday that the House's preventative measure "may have inadvertently created new risks" for the upcoming election.

Per the report, in 2022, Congress passed legislation that allows "multiple leading presidential candidates to get transition resources before a winner is determined in a contested election." But now, the "new law may grant Trump access to the federal resources and state secrets needed to start building a government without having to adhere to rules on fundraising, conflicts of interests and transparency — even if he loses."

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In addition to concerns from Democratic lawmakers and operatives, Politico reports, "Even government watchdog groups that advocated for" the new law "fear the country will venture into 'uncharted territory' if Trump doesn’t sign key coordination agreements with the Biden administration."

Politico also notes:

Despite these concerns, many lawmakers and outside experts insist Congress’ 2022 update to the Presidential Transition Act is a net-positive for democracy. It would have been unfair and dangerous, they argue, to continue saddling the political appointee who serves as GSA administrator — a job otherwise focused on managing the federal government’s vast real estate holdings — with the responsibility of declaring the winner of a contested election and handing out the proverbial keys.

Max Stier, who leads the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, said that "a plain reading of the law suggests that it will be hard for [the General Services Administration] or the other transition service providers to offer support to the Trump team without their abiding by the law."

The leader of the nonpartisan group, which Politico notes "assists all parties with transition planning," emphasized that "even without an agreement, the Biden team would likely feel a deep sense of responsibility to help a potential Trump-elect with essential transition planning and they would undoubtedly do all that they could, legally, to provide support."

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Politico's full report is available here.