Page 1 GAO-24-107518 GSA’s Presidential Transition Costs
The General Services Administration (GSA) serves a central role in coordinating
and facilitating presidential transitions under the Presidential Transition Act of
1963, as amended (PTA). Among other things, the PTA authorizes GSA to
provide services and facilities to eligible candidates before the general election,
as well as a variety of transition services to the incoming and outgoing
administrations after the election. The PTA further assigns responsibilities to
facilitate government-wide and agency-level planning, information sharing, and
cooperation between the incumbent administration and eligible candidates.
House Report 117-393 includes a provision for GAO to review GSA’s cost of
supporting the 2020–2021 presidential transition. This information will help the
Committee on Appropriations ensure that GSA is prepared for future transitions
and assess the feasibility of GSA providing support to more than one transition
team should the result of an election be unclear (H.R. Rep. No. 117-393, at 74
(2022)).
This report describes GSA’s reported cost of supporting the 2020–2021
presidential transition. Additionally, it examines how the agency developed its
fiscal year (FY) 2024 pre-election and FY 2025 post-election budget requests,
and whether those requests were consistent with certain provisions in the PTA.
Lastly, we present other publicly available sources of information on GSA’s role
in supporting the 2024–2025 presidential transition.
• According to GSA, its total cost of supporting the 2020–2021 presidential
transition was about $34.6 million. This amount included the cost of providing
pre- and post-election presidential transition services, facilities, and other
expenses.
• GSA received a $9.6 million appropriation for FY 2020 pre-election
presidential transition activities. Of this amount, GSA reported spending a
total of $6.1 million on office space, communication services and IT
equipment, and printing and supplies associated with the transition. The
remaining funding expired at the end of FY 2021.
• GSA received a $9.9 million appropriation for FY 2021 post-election
presidential transition activities. Of this amount, GSA reported spending $9.5
million on expenses related to the incoming administration, outgoing
administration, and appointee orientation activities. The remaining funding
expired at the end of FY 2021.
• GSA also reported 2020–2021 presidential transition costs of $12.7 million
from its Acquisition Services Fund (for IT equipment, furniture, and moving
services) and $4.1 million from its Federal Buildings Fund (for office space),
U.S. Government Accountability Office
s: GSA’s Reported Cost
the 2020–2021 Transition and Its Budget
the 2024–2025 Election Cycle
-24-107518
Report to Congressional Committees
