How do presidential transitions work?

Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States, and will take office on Jan. 20, 2025, following an unexpectedly dominant victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.

Before that, though, he will have to complete a process that has been undertaken by all of his predecessors: the transition to the presidency.

Trump's second go-around as commander-in-chief will see him work to implement his official platform, known as Agenda 47. This comes amid continuing controversy over the conservative

brainchild Project 2025; Trump claims to have no affiliation with the project, though it overlaps heavily with his official agenda. The transition will also involve assembling a Cabinet and

working to implement other agenda items.

To implement a transition to the White House, the winning candidate will look to their transition teams, which are "responsible for organizing the personnel vetting, policy planning and

management agendas to turn campaign promises into governing," according to the nonpartisan Center for Presidential Transition (CPT).

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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about

politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.