**Trump's 2025 Transition Already Marred by Ethical Violations and Secret Funding**

Donald Trump, the president-elect set to take office in 2025, is already ignoring ethical standards and legal norms ahead of his tenure. Accepting undisclosed donations for his transition and failing to sign necessary ethics pledges or provide the ethics plan mandated by the Presidential Transitions Act, Trump's transition is raising serious concerns about transparency and integrity.

Key figures in Trump's transition, Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, had assured agreements with the Biden administration that would ensure cooperation. However, the transition team has failed to meet important deadlines in September and October to formalize this understanding. Despite reports by The New York Times indicating that the Trump transition has secretly drafted ethics codes and conflict-of-interest guidelines, these documents conspicuously lack a legal requirement to address how Trump plans to handle conflicts of interest during his presidency.

Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Trump's actions in a letter to the Biden administration, stating, "This failure undercuts the fundamental purpose of presidential transition laws." She emphasized that Trump is compromising his administration’s ability to manage urgent national issues from day one of his presidency.

Historically, presidential transitions, including Trump’s own in 2016, have signed agreements to receive financial assistance from the General Services Administration under specific conditions, including donation limits and transparency mandates. Trump’s current strategy of accepting undisclosed funds raises concerns about potential foreign influence, with no existing restrictions on international donations during transitions.

According to Heath Brown, a public policy professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the lack of transparency around donations creates uncertainty about who is funding Trump's transition and what these donors might expect in return.

Defying another standard protocol, Trump’s transition team is sidestepping FBI background checks on nominees, opting instead for private checks. Sources indicate Trump and his associates believe federal checks are too slow, potentially delaying the implementation of his agenda. Reports also suggest Trump has questioned the necessity of these checks.

The consequences of this approach became apparent when Matt Gaetz, nominated for Attorney General, withdrew following allegations of past misconduct involving a minor. Another nominee, Pete Hegseth, is facing sexual misconduct allegations from a 2017 incident, leading to outrage among Trump’s inner circle for not disclosing the issue sooner. Similarly, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., both Trump picks, have faced similar accusations.

Trump’s refusal to adhere to standard transparency, ethics, and vetting procedures sets a troubling precedent. This disregard for established norms signals a potentially corrupt administration, possibly worse than his previous term, which saw widespread allegations of using governmental power for personal and economic gain.