[inaudible] americans across the country have already started voting in the most important president ial election in a generation. President elect joe biden or reelected President Donald Trump will face a double digit unemployment situation, a global pandemic, a reckoning on racial inequality, and a divided nation. One institution that could help address these problems is the federal government. The federal government needs to be effective if its going to deliver to the American People. Thats why preparation and fighting today is critical for effectiveness on january 20. Regardless of who wins, a smooth transition this year is not enough. This year, we need the best transition ever in american history. Should Vice President biden when, the challenges are truly daunting. In normal times, a new president faces many tasks. A 78 daytime form a government. Select more than 4000 political appointees. Manage a five through 5 trillion budget. Roll out ambitious policy agenda. Thats in normal times. Today is not normal. Normaltion to the challenges i just mentioned, the next president will have to get 13 Million People back to work, distribute 330 million vaccines, and bring our country back together again. Win, theesident trump transition will also be incredibly challenging. Last three tothe turn presidencies suggests that half of top officials across the government leave within six months of the second inauguration. Thats a normal turn rate. Unfortunately, 100 and 33 senior positions that are currently vacant without an incumbent or without a nominee. A huge challenge for a reelected President Trump will be attracting competent and qualified people to serve. Preparation, as weve learned on essential podcast, is for year five. If theres a change in administration, the outgoing president will also have a solemn responsibility under law to facilitate a smooth transition. Much as president george w. Bush did for incoming president barack obama. Transitions are always hard. They are chaotic. The time is short, 78 days. If the election is not decided on november 3, there will be even less time to get ready for day one. It will become more difficult because every day will matter. Comes aty this event such an important time. We are pleased to be hosting this first event of its kind, a nonpartisan event in association with the truly amazing president ial libraries from the past for president s. The george and barbara bush foundation, the clinton president ial center, the george w. Bush president ial center, the obama foundation, and also the uvas center, the leading Research Center in the country on the american presidency. Thank you all for your incredible support, partnership, and collaboration. Our work at the partnership for Public Service has never been more important. For for president ial cycles, weve worked to make transitions better, smoother, and faster because the success of the presidency is directly correlated with the success of their transitions. Throughout this cycle, weve worked with the three most important actors. The Trump White House, the career officials across the government who are preparing for it either eventuality, as well as the biden team. We have thousands of people watching this event. The Largest Group represents dedicated Career Agency officials tasked with transition planning under the law. They must prepare for either eventuality. We realize how hard and delicate the work is every day. We will support you and we salute you. I want to thank a few people before handing it over to penny pritzker. [inaudible] advocate for more effective transition planning before anybody else focused on it. The center has a truly worldclass advisory board, one that ive benefited from. President e friend , clintons first use of chief of staff. President bushs chief of staff who i called the godfather of smooth transitions. Governor mike leavitt led the romney transition planning effort. Romney didnt win. Mike created a new Gold Standard for transition planning. Penny is one of the few people i know whos been equally successful in business, government, and with her philanthropy. Let me also thank the amazing libraries who have pulled this event together. With that, let me turn it over to penny. Thank you very much for that very gracious welcome. Let me begin by wishing the president and the first lady a speedy recovery. You have been a tremendous leader of this vital project. We are so grateful that you have dedicated your time and your energy to this important effort for the benefit of our nation. We are also so very grateful to your dedicated team at the center, for their long hours to support us all. The timing of todays conversation could not come at a more critical point for our nation. Given the weight of issues we face, both candidates will not only have to campaign vigorously , they also need to prepare to run the country for the next four years. Diverse and sizable audience we have today reflects the interests people have in a president ial transition, even if the process is not well understood. We have people from capitol hill , private industry, Good Government organizations, transition subject matter experts, political appointees, those who served on campaigns and Transition Teams, and the media. We also welcome the many federal career professional staff joining us this morning. Your expertise, institutional knowledge, and willingness to support administrations from both parties during a president ial transition and over the life of each administration is to be commended. Gratefulncerely very for your Public Service. Person who say as a came from business and the government service, and who has been given the honor of a lifetime serving in president obamas cabinet. I was blown away by the incredible talent, expertise, and innovative spirit of the career professionals. Not only in the department of commerce, but across the entire government. Quite honestly, some of the most capable people ive ever worked with were the career professionals in the National Institute of standards and technology, the National Oceanic and atmospheric administration, the bureau of industry and security, the census bureau, the National Weather service, and so many more important offices within our government. Out, they doay this significantly important work on behalf of all of us. Frankly, they get too little credit or respect for it. So i want to thank them all. Today, the our event caliber of our speakers is a testament to the nonpartisan convening power of the partnership for Public Service. And their vital work to make our federal government work better. It demonstrates the impact of the centers ability to provide support, expertise, and resources to a wide variety of transition are stakeholders, including federal agencies, cut clinical appointees, and the president ial Transition Teams. The Center Brings unparalleled capacity to support president ial transition planning and execution. Andr work has gone deeper. Roader than any other [inaudible] honored to serve as cochair of this critical effort along with josh bolted and mike leavitt. Three simply extraordinary policies Public Service who i am blessed to come my friends. Program said, todays is a oneofakind event. It draws together a highly respected group of senior officials from every administration from bush 40 12 obama. President ial scholars and respected journalists. Importantf the most parts of our democracy. [inaudible] commitment to the peaceful transition of power. The purpose of this event is to inform the public about how president ial candidates Transition Teams and the federal government is critical to the success of a new or a president s second term. Havesign, we do not representatives from the current administration. We want each discussion to remaining remain nonpartisan, practical, and nonpolitical. In our first panel, margaret will moderate a conversation with josh bolton, andy card, denis mcdonough, and matt mccarty. For outstanding former white house chief of staff. They will talk about their experiences preparing to take office, transitioning to a second term, planning to leave office, and what to expect in 2020 and 2021. Former director of the domestic policy council, will then lead a discussion with stephen hadley, lisa monaco, barbara perry, about transitions and crises. And why this transition time could be the most important and consequential since 1932. Let me say one thing about sean. He has more senior transition experience than probably any other living person and could have been on the first panel. We asked him to be on the panel with chiefs of staff. On reflection, we thought given his experience as a 2008 transition where he led the obama transition during the ,inancial crisis and two wars he would be hugely valuable on the second panel entitled, transitions in crisis. That perhaps is the most relevant topic for today. Walter final panel, amy will talk with four incredible public servants. The complexities involved with the shift from campaigning for the presidency to governing when elected. In either a first or second term. Thank you soce, much for joining us today and for your many excellent questions. We hope to get to them as fast as we can throughout the mornings program. You can also be part of todays conversation on twitter by hashwing and using our tag. Now, i would like to hand the program over to Margaret Brennan for our first panel. Thank you. Thank you very much. All the work you do to explain to the public how the institutions that support our democracy function or are supposed to function. This is an extra ordinary morning. All of us have woken up to this news with a little bit of shock. The one certainty of 20 seems to be that nothing is certain and to expect the unexpected. I think this is a really fitting conversation today to have this powerhouse. Who have been inside the west wing at the highest levels. The help talk us through what planning needs to look like, what it should look like, what it is like in the moment of crisis. We are battling multiple crises as a country right now. Economic, health, racial, election uncertainty. Now the news this morning. By digging into this conversation with the chiefs. It will be a question for all of you. We are four years into the Trump Administration. Are they ready . Is mike pence ready for what is happening right now . Could you start us off. If you were chief of staff, what would you be doing on a morning like this . First of all, im glad to be here. Inc. You for your engagement. Im delighted to be with my fellow chiefs. Thank you for your leadership. You set the table perfectly. Agreek all of us would that Vice President ial picks are important during a campaign. When you shift from that campaign to governing, the criteria for a Vice President is that they need to be ready to required andat is be able to just charge the response abilities as commander of chief and president of the united states. Isarly, from day one, that an absolute essential of any effective administration. This morning, he will be focusing on that. He will be fully engaged with the president , his family. Always, you have a number of other issues that will be thattable, even in times were not quite as unprecedented as these. You know what its like to be chief, to be in that job in a moment of extreme National Crisis. What do you do on a morning like this . Pray for the president and the first lady. I dont care what your political stripe is or what your philosophy is. We all pray that the president and the first lady will recover quickly and be able to meet their response believe. I point out that the white house has to keep everything working no matter whats going on. The first responsys build for a chief of staff is to make sure that people in the white house have confidence to be able to do their job. Give them permission to do their job. Not to try to [inaudible] or distracted by the president s inability to attend meetings that he normally would attend. Just having discipline and confidence and a steady hand makes a big difference. Its important for the chief of staff to maintain the momentum that every cabinet member has been asked to maintain. With regard to the policies and objectives. Workld leave the campaign to the campaign people. As chief of staff, i would say my job would be to help the government meet its responsibilities and let the campaign worry about campaign responsibilities. Its not an easy time. Time whenis, its a you have to be prepared for more unexpected things to happen. Challenges ared likely to show up. We want people to have confidence in our government, confidence in our democracy. Its the white house or fonts ability to may be set the expectation up so that people will have confidence in their government during these times of trouble. Public thateing a is riddled with anxiety right now and questioning our institutions. Now this. What would you be doing if you were chief . Do we need to see the president come out today . What do you need to signal to the public today . To theneed a signal public that the government is operating officially, normally, naturally. If the president is available, sure. Put him on camera as well. Let me add my own best wishes thanks first family and to the partnership for Public Service and you for bringing us together on this important topic. I think the topic just gets more important when we face a disruption, a potential crisis like we are having right now. Run forse, its a dry what we may be facing around election day. I want to get into some of those specifics around election day in a moment. Give your take on what we need to hear from the president today, from joe biden perhaps even. What needs to be signaled . If you were a chief, what would you be doing . Thanks a lot. I want to thank my fellow chiefs for the chance to be with them. I always enjoy that. I want to thank david and penny for all their work at the partnership, especially the event today. Whatost important thing is Vice President biden has said today and what each of us have said. You started with it. Our wishes, our thoughts, our prayers for a speedy recovery for the first family. Our ongoing appreciation for that medical staff inside the white house which has obviously been working overtime since last january when news first broke. Look, demonstrating that the government is at work is really important. Hopefully, reassuring to the American People. Written communication from the white house chief physician overnight. It does sound to me like the white house is talking about trying to get some very clear evidence of the president at work today. That would make sense to me. I just would like to add one thing to the point that my colleagues have made. All around theps world right now. We have allies all around the world. I would expect to see communication, not only with the cabinet, but also communication from the white house to our allies. Continues, official business continues. Carefull be prudent and about the developments with the first family. Focusedntinuing to be on the official business of government. That includes our allies. Iswe know the president symptomatic. It is mildly symptomatic at this point. That question of, how ill he becomes, it is something we frankly hope to learn more about. As you point out, potentially a national secured crisis because of this question of confidence. Let me go back to you on something that you raised in your first answer. Because of this high anxiety, are asking 70 civics ofabout basic how transitions work, how the election will work. The details are so important because of this unprecedented circumstance in which the next election will be happening with this global pandemic. The transition planning is happening behind the scenes. How confident are you . What concerns do you have about a transition, either to a second trump term or into a Biden Administration . The good news is that i think everybody should be comforted at the kind of work that is going on in both places to prepare for a transition. Obviously, that work is much more substantial and intense with respect to a potential biden presidency. , like othere campaigns before them, not all, most campaigns in recent times have taken the transition very seriously. They have an Excellent Team in place. I think they are likely to be well positioned to take over, withte the difficulty multiple crises that they will be inheriting. In 2008 andirsthand nine 2009 with the obama transition which was run by one of your next guests. Very professional. Very well organized. A good partner. I think we are seeing the same thing from the biden team. On that size, its good. We also know that the Trump White House is taking their responsibilities seriously. Planning toing and remain in power. I hope they are also treating it as an opportunity to refresh and reset as needed. About the talking mechanics of the process behind the scenes, led by others on the team. We know that the president s remarks have brought this into the public space, what a transition might look like. Point, can you pick up on that . Expect a bolivia did outcome to this election. We wont have clarity for days, maybe weeks after november 3. We know that based on the amount of time it will take to tally up the Record Number of mailin votes that are expected. How concerned are you about the circumstances . What influence they could have on a transition. Yeah. Thanks for the question. Everybody should take this time of transition very seriously. Is, the institutions, the Transition Team at the Biden Campaign, the Transition Team, that there has been some reporting on inside the white house over the last couple of weeks. , senior civilians , the federal workforce who have mobilized and organized and prepared for a transition in either case. All those wheels are moving, and moving quite important in a context of your question, i think with president obama we saw this period is important for two reasons. One is only one president at a time. When there is a change, it is important the current president run through the tape until january 20. It is also important that the current president recognize the transition and effective transition and clean handoff to his successor is also part of the Job Description and definition of an effective presidency, especially in the times of the kind of crisis we are living in. I hope that informs the ongoing work of the Transition Team inside the government, and i know it will among federal service, and i hope it informs the decision the president makes in the days leading up to voting and coming out of voting. The institutions are strong, they work. That is how josh started this a minute ago. I have every confidence they will work again. I hope the president and his team understand that. The definition of an effective president starts also with the Job Description that includes the transition, clean handoff, especially in a time of crisis. 2000, we saw a contested outcome, as you well know, and because of what happened in florida, that delayed the transition period, delayed clarity for a long period of time. What was the net effect of that and how do you see that as a potential parallel come november . You for that question and thank you for your leadership in this conversation. That was a challenge. It was also a blessing. I got to spend time with the president elect that we did not even know it was the president elect, planning what kind of government he wanted while secretary James A Baker the third and joe albo were managing the recount and the question of hanging chads and dealing with lawyers and everything else. On holding aed white house first and a cabinet second. The president elect and i had a wonderful time working under the radar screen. Most people were focused on what was happening in florida. We would spend time getting to know each other very well, and having me understand what his priorities were, not in terms of policy but in terms of his relationship to people in the white house staff and in the cabinet and going through names and building a white house staff without the expectation every day of having to talk to the press. That was a blessing. We did leave the question of who james joe baker baker and joe albo. Josh bolton was focuses focusing on the policies on day one, which happened to be education reform, and we had joe hagan already working to help make sure we had the infrastructure of support to get things done. There were two transitions, one transition is truly a white house transition, and that is where the president has Immediate Impact on putting someone in position. In the morning i want john smith to be on my staff and in the afternoon he shows up. In the cabinet, you have to make sure you go to the process of going to the senate and giving them a chance to ratified that decision. There are two transitions. What is the white house to get ready for the real transition into governing and then the transition into governing. I was lucky to have the experience of an uncertain election result do have more time organizing the white house staff than you normally get to havend some president s suffered because they did not get their staff organized under the edge of the process. It is better to have it done at the beginning of the process. The team the president elect to together, starting with jim baker and help make a big difference in having the white house ready and healthy rest of government and helped the rest of government understand. Josh, can you pick up on that a little bit. ,e heard some of the positives but there were complications because of the delay as well. The 9 11 attacks and the abbreviated transition and some of the negative impacts that may have contributed to the confidence in the administration. Becomeplicated does it in these circumstances . Add one point to what andy just said. I completely agree with all of it, and there is one thing we took for granted very important in this circumstance, which is that we have two candidates who are prepared to live by the adjudicated results of the election. It is crucially important and what could have been a severe National Crisis because of the ambiguity in Election Results, hadof florida in 2000, we two candidates who told their by the legall live outcome here. We will live by the results. Before theates Supreme Court ruled in mid december, both candidates made it clear to their entire teams that we will fight this as hard as we can through legal means, but once that is out, it is out and whoever is declared the winner is the winner. That is what is important. We have beens that talking about are all extremely important, but the leadership comes from the top, and the two candidates need to go into this, what could be a delayed or ambiguous election result on election day, they need to go into it with an attitude of country first. Will, the mechanics may be complicated by delays or abbreviated transitions. Can we pick up on that idea that josh just raised their. There are mechanics, institutions here, a plan for a transition but some of what [indiscernible] rulesssumption that the will be played by and abided by. Are you concerned that will not happen this year . This is a highly unusual Election Year by any standard with the pandemic and the way this campaign is taking place. There are concerns with how the voting process is going to be conducted. Articles countless news articles the hallmark of any working democracy is a peaceful transition of power after a free and Fair Election has been conducted. That is at the very core of our democracy since our fending Founding Fathers gave us the constitution. Re is no question the administration that had a handoff to the next administration did so after the campaign is always seriously contested diplomatically. , butyear, this campaign had a real transition, a spirit of cooperation. Most sacred responsibility for any commanderinchief is the safety and security of the American People. It is essential in transition that you have a peaceful transition a smooth in some cases from one party to another. We all benefit from that. I hope and pray we see that this year as well. You hope and you pray. Ont do you think happens that constitutionally laid out date of january 20 . First of all this is going to be a different election for sure. I do not think anyone has a perfect crystal ball. Chairman ofr the the Federal Reserve using the word unknowable, that gives you some case of the uncertainty we are living and working in. Is ayou hope is there clear understanding and acceptance of the Election Results and you start to move forward with the transition. That is the real question. You were supposed to be involved in then president elect obamas first intelligence the cia, and i am told was under instructions to only reach president elect obama and no one else. Do you know what happened during that meeting, that briefing . It occurs to me a year when we have so Many National security crises and issues confronting the next commanderinchief the sharing of intelligence and a conversation like this is going to be of extreme heightened importance. Recollection, my so maybe i should talk to david. I remember sitting with president obama on the morning he had his first briefing. I remember it because i had to been in chicago for an extended stay in my wife and i had a very young kids i had not seen in some time, and i came back home to see them at my wife and had hoped to be able to stay there but that was directed to turn around and go back to chicago to join the president for the brief. But you are absolutely correct that the sharing of intelligence is maybe one of the most concrete examples of the kind of sharing that needs to happen and to joshoard, 2008ns good credit, in and 2009, that happened. My participation with the that,ent is an example of but it is only one of several examples. I tried to emulate that eight years later in december, november and december 2015 and january 2017. To one secondack on your earlier question because i feel like we are not giving you the answer that you want, which is, are we worried about transition . The short answer to that is yes. Each of us was in that job because we are warriors. If you are not a warrior you will not qualify for this job. I guess what i also want to communicate as clearly as i can there are as you noted in my answer institutions at work right now to ensure we are ready for a variety of eventualities, and individuals will be making a decision in the context of the Election Results. No one has suggested that the results will be inaccurate. People have suggested the results will be perhaps delayed because of numerous vote by mail opportunities. If there were an effort to curtail the counting of peoples votes, i would be worried about that. Think the first judgment on a great presidency will be whether you run through the dates and fulfill the job responsibility of being president , and one of them is a clean, effective handoff, particularly in a time of crisis, and i believe because of that individuals will make the right decision. Let the votes be counted so that americans have confidence the way they vote is counted and counted accurately. We will continue this 240 year peaceful transition. That is a question the public is asking quite a lot these days, whether the date of the election, the date of the transition, whether some of what the president said publicly can be implemented. Let me pick up on what you just mentioned. You were part of briefing the Trump Incoming team at the Trump Administration. They went through a few iterations, as you know. What did you do to prepare them affected your attempts were so have . Where the the attempts will receive . I did do hundreds of things but so did hundreds if not thousands of other people. The wheels are turning right now with the federal service are substantial, and they are preparing for either eventuality, and that is a big amount of work. I did some things, but most importantly the government did a lot of things. There were two big challenges in 2016. The wholesale change of the Transition Team after the election, which delayed the trumps team start of the transition. The transition itself is very short if you compare our transition. Transition. A bank to other countries around the world. Anything that curtails it anymore is unfortunate. That slow down the building of , and not necessarily for my firsthand knowledge, although i have some of that from reporting by Michael Lewis and others that a lot of the material just was not consumed. That l tell whether what the overall impact of that that it wasfact is a delayed start, it does appear the prepared material was not consumed, even though it had been prepared. It looks to me like the biden suggested now as josh a couple of minutes ago is learning from that and is digging in all these questions, and i think that gives me great hope in the context of a very tumultuous period. Why was it so, important to president bush and your team to create a model that you have talked about . Isthe most important thing we were in the midst of two wars in iraq and afghanistan, and particularly at the time when we begin to start thinking about the transition [indiscernible] a second term president than a firstterm president. There we were approaching the in 2007,second term the situation in iraq and afghanistan was not particularly good. The country remained under physical threat, and in early 2000 eight, president bush called me into his office and he said this will be the first transition in modern history conducted when the nation is actually under threat, and i want to beat the best and most effective possible. It came from the top, and there were a lot of good people doing their jobs. It came from the top with the president setting the tone and saying, we are partisans. We want republicans to win, but the transition should come first. That is especially true in this crisis. , we are also looking at the possibility of the transition simply being from term one to term two. What do president s need to do in year four to be prepared for year five. First of all they have to acknowledge that there is a transition. You were not just taking yesterday and repeating it. People sometimes feel they should not be replaced so they want to hold on to the desk. First of all, president bush was also ready to have a very good transition should he have lost us totion, so he had told be prepared to transition to another president. Then on thece focus responsibilities of being a leader of our democracy as he was of being, yes, i am the president and he was prepared to pass the baton if he had to. At campember meeting david that thursday after the election and he called me add to into his office and said i am going to make a number of changes in the staff, the make changesi will as you told me the cabinet agencies she wanted to change, and i said that is wonderful. You should probably start with your steve of jeff chief of staff, because that was of no government there may be new people coming into your position. To helpno, i need you me make those changes. I said you have got to talk to my wife. I am not sure that i can put up with it. And he said, i will go ask her right now. He jumped up and saw my wife and , and he said he cannot do this if you do not agree. He wanted me to help make changes and one of the most challenging aspect was it you do not get to hire people. You do good to tell people your services are no longer needed. That is a tough thing to do especially for cabinet members who feel the president won the election, therefore, they should keep doing their job. Changing peoples part of a transition from team 12 team one plus and that is what you have to do. There was a transition even though the government was the same. President bush was the same andident on january 19 january 21, but you did have a new government at the executive branch to make his policies and momentum what he wanted. He had a lot of things he wanted to get done so we focused on that. We had an artist transition and it made a big difference. I thought that the second term started off very well considering we were in a war and dealing with unbelievable challenges, but he was able to get a lot done. What do you think needs to yearn year four for a five, and how do you continue to recruit the talent to come into an administration for a second term. . Said, he outlined some of the tenants of a change to a second administration. So important is how the campaign as god before it reelecting that president. Is for theimportant country to feel that the reelected president leader has a forwarda renewal moving and not resting on laurels were being stuck or slowed without firstterm. It has got to be a renewal, a new vision. As far as leadership people are concerned, i think there is a natural transition there. The chief of staff position [indiscernible] times that they were wellsuited for. The same goes for the cabinet. I think there is a Natural Renewal there. It has to be done in an orderly, smooth, thoughtful, purposeful manner. You this question of turnover, the question of being able to recruit good talent . Senior leaders depart in the First Six Months of a second term. What is the Practical Impact of hire gooddo you talent . It is hard. Andy did a good job, and it is a challenge throughout a second done, andit has to be for the transitioning administration, i agree with andy. The risk is not so much that you will not be able to find good people to replace people you had. The much bigger risk for a second Term Administration is that you will not realize that this is a good time to replace people and reset, and everything about his administration makes people feel like they are in place and they deserve to be there, but they need to be reminded what andy carter arended the bush staff, we attendance, not ogres of this place. And we need to be prepared to leave when the time is up and use every day you possibly can. Getse way, it actually harder on the group inside the recruitment side the leader you go into a second term. I took over from andy in year six of the bush administration. New treasuryr secretary [indiscernible] it turned out that they have been my biggest contribution to government. [indiscernible] yeah, because we ended up in an economic crisis at the end of the administration, which hank paulson had a lot to do with the basically rescuing the world economy. So i think it would lessen the transition problem, but the ongoing problem of how do you keep the staff fresh, and how do you get the best people in government. No one ever assumed if you have only got a year or six months that nothing can be done. Exactly right by saying expect the unexpected, especially now. We have had already tremendous turnover in the four years of the Trump Administration. Do you have concerns and what is your advice for a second term in recruiting top talent . Am i concerned . Absolutely, and that is the lifeblood of the administration is the people that you are able to bring in and that you are able then to work with federal service, which is so full of massive talent. So talent is a principal challenge i think in that bridging from the end of a firstterm into a new second term. , and thisunderscore is among the really good pieces of advice i got from all former chiefs, including several pieces from josh. This is the best advice he gave me, which is you have to be very intentional about edit focused on this question of keeping talent but also being very clear about it when you need to move off existing talent into new talent. You have got to be looking for signs of fatigue and your team, constantly taking care of your team, but you have to be constantly looking for new talent, because you will need it. Intentionality is really important. Let me say one thing here. How how the congress and senate handles our confirmation is an issue in this , both as it relates to how quickly you can get your team on a field and some of the tomfoolery that comes along. Reachesthat tomfoolery such a level that you end up losing an opportunity to get really good talent on the field because they are dissuaded. The last and most important point is there is massive strength in diversity, and part of that diversity is mixing the new team with the old team, but part of that diversity is making sure the country loves like america. It. Biden campaign, you see in the Biden Campaign promises, he wants to build a team that reflects the full gender and racial diversity of the country, and i think that will have each of the three chiefs on here similarly try to build their so that has a great virtue all its own. How that team works well together, and how it reflects the strength of the country, that as a self reinforcing impact over time, and so the fact that they are starting with such a pool of talent gives me hope. Max, should we be more hopeful was it tomfoolery . [indiscernible] of actually getting people through and confirmed the thousands of jobs that require confirmation. Are we point where we feel incredibly partisan that the sand is in the wheel and it will be complicated for whomever is u. S. The right question. You asked the right question. We had all of our candidates in place for the clinton administration, save one, the attorney general. Senate cooperated with that process. Tomfoolery was avoided. We had all of our candidates in place save one. We could not have asked for better cooperation from stuart until we got our attorney general, janet reno, and place. It is very different now. American people ever want washington to work better. It is harder, going back to your recruiting point. It is harder to recruit people to serve the government well that it was 1020 years ago. I dont think there is much doubt about that. Wax [indiscernible] he has had an effort to reduce the number of people that need to be Senate Confirmed which would get rid of some of the tomfoolery. One of the main complications out there is the fact having in person conversations is complicated these days. Holding talking about congressional hearings. What about in the practical side, with remote work . This is a question for one of our audience remembers members. For hurdle will it prevent the president ial office when it comes to recruiting talent . Anyone want to take that . I am going to jump in. This is going to be a new challenge across the board. Just was suggesting, as long as you are intentional talent, beingme clear about the kind of candidate you are going to run, it is not hard to get people to stand up. The Senate Business kind of notwithstanding. This new remote work, i think that is going to be what we are going to be dealing with. And all the other things the American People are dealing with. The challenges of the zoom process is it is hard to build a culture of support from the workers. And the team members. Are working at the white house, the offices are quite small. It is an intimate place to work. Have an impact on the way people work. It is going to be more difficult if we have to do everything remotely. Motivating people to feel as if they are part of the team is a challenge because of the distance elation ship. It is not just in government. Corporate america as well. Quickly the white house, the new administration, you have new people coming in. It is not like an existing organization where you know people, you work with people. Work, youave remote have that bond of connectivity. The Trump Administration and the but administration Biden Administration, if it comes to pass, people have worked together. Is such ans important, challenging time. Hopefully it will call people to Public Service. I have a question on the National Security front. We may have the best health care system. Our commanderinchief is the most productive man in the world, and yet he is vulnerable. We have demonstrated we are vulnerable. Are you concerned on day one in a transition what that could mean in terms of immediate National Security threats for the current or incoming president . I am. It is not something to be panicked about, but it is definitely something to be worried about. What what is animated animated President Trump president bush in 2008. We have to have the best transition and history because the country is under threat. There is no greater moment of than that day of the transfer of power. When the new team is coming in. Macme underscore something just alluded to. On january 17, 18th, is staffed with the incumbent staff. 19,he night of january everyone is out. A new team walks in. Necessarily, everybody is not necessarily going to be able to walk into their office. Even if everybody could be there pretty much every person is new to their job. That is why the transition is so important at a moment of real National Security full their ability. What they tried to do, and what we tried to do in a primitive 2008, is bring in the new folks. Pair them up with their counterparts, especially in the National Security side. Do a couple of exercises so people would know how to react if one of our advertisers adversaries seized in this moment and tried to launch some sort of attack. Didnt the Obama Administration do that . Pandemice thing preparedness . I give credit to susan rice. The Homeland Security and National Security advisers. Throughcise we went with the incoming team and the Outgoing Team was precisely that. There is so much all of you knowledge,tutional such a great opportunity to get an answer to these questions. I have plenty more questions. Our time is up here. I want to hand it back to the partnership. Melanie barnes, i believe, is standing by. Who will control congress in january . All theformed on competitive congressional races leading up to election day with campaign 2020 coverage. Watch the candidates debate and Election Results. Watch online at cspan. Org. Listen in the free cspan radio app. Your unfiltered view of politics. Afternoon, the White House Press secretary statement on the president s condition, saying President Trump remains in good spirits and has been working throughout the day. President trump appreciates the outpouring of support for he and the first lady. The president at departing the white house for walter reed medical center. There has been no transfer of power to Vice President pence