[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 29465-29467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11300]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 11, 2016 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 29465]]


                Executive Order 13727 of May 6, 2016

                
Facilitation of a Presidential Transition

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including section 7301 of title 5, United 
                States Code, and the Presidential Transition Act of 
                1963, as amended, and to assist the Presidential 
                transition, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. The peaceful transition of power has 
                long been a hallmark of American democracy. It is the 
                policy of the United States to undertake all reasonable 
                efforts to ensure that Presidential transitions are 
                well-coordinated and effective, without regard to party 
                affiliation.

                Sec. 2. Establishment of the White House Transition 
                Coordinating Council. (a) To facilitate the 
                Presidential transition, including assisting and 
                supporting the transition efforts of the transition 
                teams of eligible candidates, there is established a 
                White House Transition Coordinating Council.

                    (b) The White House Transition Coordinating Council 
                shall be composed of the following officials or their 
                designees:

(i) Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, who shall serve as 
Chair;

(ii) Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, 
who shall serve as Vice Chair;

(iii) Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for 
Implementation;

(iv) Counsel to the President;

(v) Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel;

(vi) Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;

(vii) Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 
Counterterrorism;

(viii) Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director, 
National Economic Council;

(ix) Director of National Intelligence;

(x) Director of the Office of Management and Budget;

(xi) Administrator of General Services;

(xii) Federal Transition Coordinator;

(xiii) the transition representative for each eligible candidate, who shall 
serve in an advisory capacity; and

(xiv) any other executive branch official the President determines 
appropriate.

                    (c) The White House Transition Coordinating Council 
                shall:

(i) provide guidance to executive departments and agencies (agencies) and 
the Federal Transition Coordinator regarding preparations for the 
Presidential transition, including succession planning and preparation of 
briefing materials;

(ii) facilitate communication and information sharing between the 
transition representatives of eligible candidates and senior employees in 
agencies and the Executive Office of the President, including the provision 
of information relevant to facilitating the personnel aspects of a 
Presidential transition and such other information that, in the Council's 
judgment,

[[Page 29466]]

is useful and appropriate, as long as providing such information is not 
otherwise prohibited by law; and

(iii) prepare and host interagency emergency preparedness and response 
exercises.

                    (d) In order to obtain a wide range of facts and 
                information on prior transitions and best practices, 
                the White House Transition Coordinating Council, its 
                members, or their designees may seek information from 
                private individuals, including individuals in outside 
                organizations, who have significant experience or 
                expertise in Presidential transitions. The White House 
                Transition Coordinating Council, its members, or their 
                designees shall endeavor to obtain such facts and 
                information from individuals representing a range of 
                bipartisan or nonpartisan viewpoints. If the White 
                House Transition Coordinating Council, its members, or 
                their designees find it necessary to seek advice from 
                private individuals or outside organizations, such 
                counsel should be sought in a manner that seeks 
                individual advice and does not involve collective 
                judgment or deliberation.

                Sec. 3. Establishment of the Agency Transition 
                Directors Council. (a) To implement the guidance 
                provided by the White House Transition Coordinating 
                Council and to coordinate transition activities across 
                agencies, there is established an Agency Transition 
                Directors Council.

                    (b) The Agency Transition Directors Council shall 
                be composed of the following officials or their 
                designees:

(i) Federal Transition Coordinator, who shall serve as Co-Chair;

(ii) Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget, 
who shall serve as Co-Chair;

(iii) a senior career representative from each agency described in section 
901(b)(1) of title 31, United States Code, the Office of Personnel 
Management, the Office of Government Ethics, and the National Archives and 
Records Administration whose responsibilities include leading Presidential 
transition efforts within the agency;

(iv) during a year in which a Presidential election will be held, a 
transition representative for each eligible candidate, who shall serve in 
an advisory capacity;

(v) a senior career representative from any other agency determined by the 
Co-Chairs to be an agency that has significant responsibilities relating to 
the Presidential transition process; and

(vi) other senior employees serving in the Executive Office of the 
President, as determined by the President.

                    (c) The Agency Transition Directors Council shall:

(i) ensure the Federal Government has an integrated strategy for addressing 
interagency challenges and responsibilities around Presidential transitions 
and turnover of non-career appointees;

(ii) coordinate transition activities among the Executive Office of the 
President, agencies, and the transition team of eligible candidates and the 
President-elect and Vice-President-elect;

(iii) draw on guidance provided by the White House Transition Coordinating 
Council and lessons learned from previous Presidential transitions in 
carrying out its duties;

(iv) assist the Federal Transition Coordinator in identifying and carrying 
out his or her responsibilities relating to a Presidential transition;

(v) provide guidance to agencies in gathering briefing materials and 
information relating to the Presidential transition that may be requested 
by eligible candidates;

(vi) ensure materials and information described in subparagraph (v) of this 
subsection are prepared not later than November 1 of the year during which 
a Presidential election is held;

[[Page 29467]]

(vii) ensure agencies adequately prepare career employees who are 
designated to fill non-career positions during a Presidential transition; 
and

(viii) consult with the President's Management Council, or any successor 
thereto, in carrying out its duties.

                    (d) The Agency Transition Directors Council shall 
                meet:

(i) subject to subparagraph (ii) of this subsection, not less than once per 
year; and

(ii) during the period beginning on the date that is 6 months before a 
Presidential election and ending on the date on which the President-elect 
is inaugurated, on a regular basis as necessary to carry out its duties and 
authorities.

                Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head 
thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) The terms ``eligible candidate,'' ``Federal 
                Transition Coordinator,'' and ``Presidential election'' 
                shall have the same meaning as those terms used in the 
                Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended. The 
                term ``President's Management Council'' shall have the 
                same meaning as that term is used in the Presidential 
                Memorandum of July 11, 2001.
                    (d) This order is intended only to facilitate the 
                transition and is not intended to, and does not, create 
                any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    May 6, 2016.

[FR Doc. 2016-11300
Filed 5-10-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F6-P