Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the presidential race to former President Trump on Wednesday, officially opening the door for the Biden administration to begin allowing the president-elect’s teams access to government agencies.

However, there remains a significant obstacle to this process: Trump has still not signed an agreement with the Biden White House, nor with the General Services Administration, the federal agency which manages the presidential transition, which would allow these landing teams to deploy. Under federal transition law, Trump must have memorandums of understanding in place and detail who will participate in the transition before sending them to agencies.

Trump refused to sign the agreements throughout the election process, preventing his team from engaging in much of the formal pre-election transit process.

Trump’s clear victory and Harris’ concession closed the door on the most complicated situation for which federal agencies had prepared, namely the scenario in which neither candidate conceded and the GSA would have to authorize both transition teams to deploy simultaneously in the agencies.

Instead, only Trump is eligible, if he chooses to take advantage of the opportunity. Federal agencies have prepared information documents to present to Trump’s landing teams and Congress appropriated funds to support Trump’s transition efforts, although both require the memorandum of understanding.

“We have one president at a time,” said Valerie Smith Boyd, who has worked closely with agencies and transition teams as head of the Public Service Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition. “There is really no obligation or mechanism to meet with the Trump team” in the absence of a deal.

Engagement with agencies requires secure communication channels (usually via .gov email addresses), screenings before individuals can physically enter agencies, and in some cases, interim security clearances so that team members can access classified information. Without an agreement in place defining those parameters, Boyd said, GSA would “advise federal agencies not to engage” with Trump staff.

Yet the Biden administration is offering to help Trump ensure continuity of government. The White House said Wednesday that Biden spoke with Trump and “expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition.” Harris, in her concession speech Wednesday, also said she told Trump “that we will help him and his team with their transition, and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”

GSA said in a statement Wednesday that it had informed Trump’s team that he was eligible to receive its post-election transition services.

“GSA stands ready to work with President-elect Trump’s transition team to reach the required agreement to receive GSA administrative services and support,” the agency said.

Trump’s memorandum of understanding would also outline nondisclosure agreements, protocols for access to sensitive information and conditions prohibiting the use of shared information for personal gain. Harris’ team had signed the memorandums of understanding and had an ethics plan in place well before the election.

“Absent this agreement, the outgoing president is neither expected nor obligated to open access to federal agencies,” Boyd said.

If Trump signs such agreements, he will then forward the names of his transition team members to the GSA, which in turn will forward them to the agencies. Government Executive previously reported that members of Trump’s team would likely face delays in accessing agencies and the information they have prepared because of the necessary vetting that must take place. Boyd noted that the process could have started as early as September 1, when GSA offered its services to both campaigns. The Justice Department has not yet reached an agreement with the Trump campaign to advance these efforts.

Trump has established a transition team, naming Howard Lutnick, who runs a financial services company, and Linda McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration under the former president, as transition co-chairs. McMahon also chairs the America First Policy Institute, a group of former Trump administration officials who have worked to establish policies and personnel that Trump can tap into.

“Mcmahon’s selection of a transition co-chair allows the candidate to tap into the hard work that the America First Policy Institute has accomplished over the past two years,” Boyd said. “While they remain discreet with the public, they show signs of a very vigorous planning effort. »

Given that Trump can tap into his network of former officials who served under him as recently as four years ago, he could choose to forgo the process altogether in the hopes that they can get started without even reviewing the latest events in the agencies or build relationships with senior career executives through agencies.

Still, Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, said Trump must be ready to govern from day one and called on the president-elect to make deals with the White House, GSA, Justice and others entities.

“Presidential transitions are complex and difficult regardless of the circumstances, and trying to execute one without that support is like running a race with your shoes tied together,” Stier said. “Denying this support poses an enormous and unnecessary risk to national security and preparedness. »

Trump’s post-election transition plan has also been delayed in 2016 because he abandoned efforts led by former Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., essentially choosing to start from scratch after his victory.