Warren asks GAO to review ‘chaotic’ Trump transition

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Wednesday urged the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate President-elect Donald Trump’s transition efforts.

“We are concerned about reports of ‘disarray’ within a ‘chaotic’ transition, and ask that you address several concerns,” the pair said in a letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro.

{mosads}“[They include] conflicts of interest related to business holdings of Mr. Trump and his family; potential violations of protocol and security precautions related to Mr. Trump’s communications with foreign leaders; and transparency related to the use of taxpayer funds in the transition. Because the transition will last only until January 20, 2017, we ask that you begin this review as quickly as possible.”

Cummings and Warren said Trump’s actions both before and after his White House win inspire concerns about what the transition process will cost taxpayers.

“All Americans share an interest in a smooth presidential transition, and federal laws authorize the use of taxpayer funds for that purpose,” they said.

“But Mr. Trump’s apparent conflicts of interest — and his behavior during the campaign and after his election — raise questions about the use of taxpayer funds during the transition, and about the decisions made during the transition that will affect federal government policies under the Trump administration.”

Trump’s transition team is racing to prepare his incoming administration after the Republican’s surprising White House win earlier this month.

Critics have argued Trump’s political inexperience may undermine the transition process and that his business empire may pose conflicts of interest with his future government.

Trump has fiercely denied that the shift is messy, however, insisting last week that staffing his administration is “a very organized process.”