![]() As a result, for the first seven months of a new administration, the president often had no Congress with which he could work. Then they’d return home and the new session of Congress would start the following fall. As a result, the lame-duck Congress from the previous term often held a special session to certify the president's election and attend the inauguration. The Constitution initially required Congress to convene by December of each year. Jefferson took the oath of office on March 4.Ĭongress was even weirder. For example, in the election of 1800, Congress didn’t open the returns from states until February 11, 1801. Without the internet, the telegraph, or even super reliable mail service, this process could take weeks to get results from all corners of the country. The states would then send their results to Congress to be certified. Until 1845, each state determined their election day, so there was a range of local elections from April to early December. (I wrote a piece for CNN about other things to watch for during the transition, you can read it here.) So I thought it might be helpful to explain the history of the transition period and why we still have it.įrom the very beginning, the Constitution had a lot of wiggle room built into the process. Most of these nominations aren’t made until after the inauguration, but that’s how many positions new presidents have to fill.īut this year, some people have asked why we have such a long lame-duck period, as President Trump is refusing to concede, firing senior staff at the Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security, and preventing President-Elect Biden from receiving intelligence briefings and messages from foreign leaders. In any given transition year, that roughly 80 days between an election and an inauguration doesn’t seem that long, as new presidents have policies to announce, intelligence to learn, and 4,000 appointees to name. ![]() Yet, he will not take office until January 20, 2021. On Saturday, November 7, 2020, every major news outlet called the election for President-Elect Joe Biden.
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