President ial transitions. They talked about how they react to news of President Trump testing positive for the coronavirus. They also looked at issues transitioning from one administration to another. Good morning, and welcome to talking hendersons. Im the director. We all woke up to the shocking news this morning. Before we get started, let me send our best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to President Trump, the first lady, as well as all the officials who worked closely with the president. Out from november 3, 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. The one institution that could help address these problems is the federal government. And the federal government needs to be effective if its going to deliver for 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 win, the challenges are truly daunting. In normal times, a new president faces mammoth tasks. 878 day period to form a government, select more than 4000 political appointees, 5 trillion budget, and rollout and ambitious policy agenda. Thats in normal times. But today is not normal. In addition to the normal 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. Should President Trump win, the transition will also be incredibly challenging. Our data from the last three to the last three twoterm presidencies suggests that half of top officials across the government leave within six months of the second inauguration. Half. Thats a normal turn rate. But unfortunately, it comes on top of almost 133 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 our podcast, is essential 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. Theyre chaotic. The time is short, 78 days. And if the election is not decided on november 3, there will be even less time to get ready for day one. Will become more difficult because every day will matter. Thats why this event, talking transitions, comes at 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 four 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 four 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. And 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 either eventuality, as well as the biden team. Now, we have thousands of people watching this event. The Largest Group represents the dedicated Career Agency officials tasked with transition planning under the law. They must prepare for either eventuality. Every elected President Trump or a new president a reelected President Trump or a new President Biden. 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. Max has the partnership for Public Service. Hes been an advocate for more effective transition planning before anybody else focused on it. Second, the center has a truly worldclass advisory board, one that ive benefited from sage advice, counsel, and support. My longtime friend , president clintons chief of staff. First bolton, 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, but mike created a new Gold Standard for transition planning. Penny is one of the few people i know whos been equally successful in business, in government, and with her philanthropy. Let me also thank the amazing teams at the partnership, at the libraries, and at the Miller Center who have pulled this event together. With that, let me turn it over to penny pritzker. Penny . You veryvid, thank much for that very gracious welcome. Let me begin by wishing the president and the first lady a speedy recovery. David, you have been a tremendous leader of this vital project and we are so grateful that you have dedicated your time and your energy to this important effort for the benefit of our nation. Were 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. The 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. And we are sincerely very grateful for your Public Service. Let me just say as a person who that came from business in 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. Day in and day out, they do this significantly important work on behalf of all of us. And frankly, they get too little credit or respect for it. So, i want to thank them all. In terms of our event today, the 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. And it demonstrates the impact of the centers ability to provide support, expertise, and resources to a wide variety of groups that are transition stakeholders, including federal agencies, political appointees, and the president ial Transition Teams. The Center Brings unparalleled capacity to support president ial transition planning and execution. Their work has gone deeper and has gone broader than any other cycle, the three main stakeholders. [inaudible] what i am honored to serve as cochair of this critical effort , along with mike, josh bolton, and mike leavitt. Three simple extraordinary policies Public Service who i am blessed to call my friends. As david said, todays program is a oneofakind event. It draws together a highly respected group of senior officials from every administration from bush 41 to obama. President ial scholars and respected journalists. Its one of the most important parts of our democracy. Our 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. By design, we do not have representatives from the current administration. Given our desire for each discussion to remain nonpartisan, and to the extent practical and nonpolitical. In our first panel, Margaret Brennan, face the nation moderator, will moderate a conversation with josh bolton, andy card, denis mcdonough, and matt mccarty, four 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. Melody barnes, former director of the domestic policy council, will then lead a discussion with stephen hadley, lisa monaco, barbara perry, and john podesta about transitions and crises, and why this transition time transition period could be the most important and consequential since 1932. Let me say one thing about john podesta. He has more senior transition experience than probably any other living person and probably could have been on the first panel. We asked him to be on the panel with chiefs of staff. On reflection, we thought given on reflection, we thought given his experience as a 2008 transition, where he led the obama transition during the financial crisis and two wars, he would be hugely value added on the second panel entitled, transitions in crisis. And that may be, perhaps, the most relevant topic for today. For our final panel, amy walter will talk with four incredible public servants. Alexis hermon, valerie jarrett, karen hughes, and margaret spelling, about the complexities involved with the shift from campaigning for the presidency to governing when elected in either a first or second term. And to our audience, thank you so 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 service andpublic system. G the public now, i would like to hand the program over to Margaret Brennan for our first panel. Thank you. Margaret thank you very much for all the nonpartisan work you do to explain to the public how the institutions that support our democracy function or are supposed to function. This is an extraordinary morning. I think all of us have woken up to this news with a little bit of shock. The one certainty of 2020 seems to be that nothing is certain and to expect the unexpected. So, i think this is a really fitting conversation today to have this powerhouse of minds who have been inside the west wing at the highest levels to 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, and now the news this morning. I want to start 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 . Well, margaret, first of all,. m glad to be here with you im delighted to be with my fellow chiefs. Thank you for your leadership. You set the table perfectly as you always do. Margaret, i think all of us would agree that Vice President ial picks are important during a campaign. And when you shift from that campaign to governing, the criteria for a Vice President is that he or she need to be ready to step in if the moment requires that, and be able to discharge the responsibilities as commander of chief and president of the united states. Clearly, from day one, that is an absolute essential of any effective administration. Morning,ere chief this you will be focusing on that. You will be fully engaged with the president , his family. As always, you have a multiple number of other issues that will be inevitable, even in times that were not quite as unprecedented as these. Margaret lets go to andy card. 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 . Andy well, first of all, i pray for the president and the first lady. I dont care what your political stripe is or what your philosophy is or bias, maybe. We all pray that the president and the first lady will recover quickly and be able to meet their response abilities. Responsibilities. I also point out that the white house has to keep everything working no matter whats going on. The first responsibility for a chief of staff is to make sure that people in the white house have confidence to be able to do their job and give them andission to do their job not try to jump into somebody byes lane or be distracted Current Events or distracted by the president s inability to attend meetings that he normally would attend. So, just having discipline, i think, and confidence and a steady hand makes a big difference. Its also 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. I would leave the Campaign Work to the campaign people. I would not as a chief of staff, i would say my job would be to help the government meet its responsibilities and let the campaign worry about the campaign responsibilities. But it is not an easy time. The truth is, as max said, its a time when you have to be prepared for more unexpected things to happen. And these unexpected challenges are likely to show up. And we want people to have confidence in our government, confidence in our democracy. And i do feel its the white houses responsibility to set expectations up so that people will have confidence in their government during these times of trouble. Margaret josh bolton, we are seeing a public that 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, as members of the public, see the president come out today . What do you need to signal to the public today . Josh you need a signal to the 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 to those of my colleagues for the first family and thanks to the partnership for Public Service, president ial foundation , and you margaret, for bringing us together on this important topic. And i think the topic just gets more important when we face a disruption, a potential crisis like were having right now. In a sense, its kind of a dry run for what we may be facing around election day. Margaret i want to get into some of those specifics around election day in a moment. But i do want to give Dennis Mcdonagh a chance to jump in and give his take on what we need to hear from the president today, from joe biden perhaps even. What needs to be signaled . And if you were chief, what would you be doing . Dennis yeah, margaret, thanks a lot. I want to thank my fellow chiefs. I want to thank david 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. Look, the first most important thing is what Vice President biden has said today and what each of us chiefs have said. You started with it. Our wishes, our thoughts, our prayers for a speedy recovery for the first family go out. 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, i think demonstrating that the government is at work is really important, hopefully reassuring to the American People. I think thats the 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. And that would make sense to me. Id just like to add one thing to the point that my colleagues have made. We do have troops all around the world right now. We have allies all around the world. And i would expect to see communication, not only with the cabinet, as everybody already referred to, but also communication from the white house to our allies. That, obviously, work continues here, official business continues, and that will be prudent and careful about the developments with the first family, but also continuing to , andy, and as matt josh have said, on the official business of government. That includes our allies. Margaret w