Trump transition signs MOU with DOJ to facilitate FBI background checks

President-elect Trump’s transition team announced Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Justice Department, which will allow the FBI to conduct background checks for certain individuals chosen for the incoming administration.

The transition said the agreement with the DOJ allows Trump’s team to “submit names for background checks and security clearances.” The transition had previously resisted using the FBI to conduct background checks and instead indicated it would use a different vetting process, underscoring Trump’s distrust of the bureau.

But the government background checks and security clearances are necessary for officials who are part of the transition’s landing teams at various agencies to gain access to certain information as they prepare to take office in January.

“This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day,” Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, said in a statement.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s team last week announced it had signed an MOU with the Biden White House, allowing for officials to meet with counterparts at departments and agencies ahead of the January transition of power.

The transition’s signing of the memorandum with the White House came three weeks after Trump’s victory on election night. By comparison, then-candidate Joe Biden and his team signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate a transition of power in early September 2020, before that year’s election took place.

Sources previously told The Hill that Biden White House officials have pressed the Trump team to sign the necessary memoranda of understanding since September, and White House chief of staff Jeff Zients personally stressed the importance of the documents after Election Day.

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