What Happens Next:Post-Election Advice

-- by Molly Tranbaugh, Christina Carrica Haley, and Jessie Gabriel 

We now know who is going to be returning to the White House in 2025. But what happens between now and January 20, 2025? How does the transition process work? Can Congress do anything? What about state and local? We’re bringing in some experts to discuss. 

First up is our very own Molly Tranbaugh. You may not know this about Molly, but before embarking on her illustrious legal career, Molly was a proper politico. She worked in Barack Obama’s Senate office and then the White House. Molly is going to dig back into her memory bank and educate us on the transition process when a new President comes in. Next we’re bringing in (I was about to say “friend of the pod” . . . clearly I’ve been listening to too many election podcasts) friend and All Places client, Christina Carrica Haley, the CEO of Connectiva. Christina spent most of her career on senatorial and presidential campaigns before launching Connectiva, a consultancy at the intersection of politics, business, and entertainment. In short, she is Olivia Pope. Finally, Jessie will hop in to let you all know about some of the work we’re doing here at All Places in light of the election results. 

The U.S. has elected a new president. What happens next? (Molly) 

The presidential transition officially kicks off once the election results have been confirmed, but the candidates formed their transition teams and were in full planning mode long before Election Day. In the months leading up to the election, candidates and their teams were working on policy planning, staffing, and appointments for the new administration, including to shortlist top cabinet positions and start vetting potential appointees.  

Now that the formal process has begun, the president-elect and transition team must follow guidelines under the Presidential Transition Act, ensuring adherence to budget, ethical, and procedural standards. The transition should include agency reviews, intelligence briefings, finalizing the new administration’s plan for the first 100 days in office, and coordinating with the outgoing administration on information handoffs and national security matters. The transition process is typically highly structured and designed to ensure continuity between administrations and to formally transfer control to the new president. Whether the incoming administration follows these procedures remains to be seen.  

The election’s over, right? Can we all just watch Netflix now? (Christina) 

In the wake of Kamala Harris’s defeat, we have a critical role in driving progress. Now is the time to double down on engagement at every level. On the federal front, we can work with allies like Senator Susan Collins (R) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D), who support bipartisan initiatives to expand access to capital and foster female leadership in business. Partnering with influential voices on both sides of the aisle strengthens our message and builds a united front for gender equity. 

Locally, engaging with state representatives to support or create women-focused business task forces can push forward policies that ensure equitable funding and transparency in finance. We should also join forces with advocacy groups like the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) to influence state legislation directly. 

By staying active in policy conversations, both federally and locally, we maintain our momentum and ensure that future generations have pathways to leadership and capital access. Our voice matters–let’s continue using it to build the inclusive future we envision. 

How does this affect the advocacy work All Places has been leading? (Jessie) 

As many of you know, we have been starting to engage in more advocacy that is in alignment with our mission of capital equity. Since hosting two political roundtable discussions on female entrepreneurship and asset management, we were tasked by Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) with preparing a policy paper to serve as a roadmap for politicians who wanted to improve access to capital for women. We had hoped that paper might find an audience in the Harris administration, but no such luck. As Christina mentions, however, there is still plenty of work to be done and there is still an audience for what we are trying to achieve. Many of our proposals may find an audience with states, others could garner bipartisan congressional support. Yes, it feels like it might be a heavier lift now. But at the same time, our job seems more pressing than ever. We don’t have to sit idly by, our arms crossed over our chests, depressed and angry that we didn’t get what we wanted. Or at least, we can break up those sessions with some optimism and a sense of urgency over what we might be able to achieve in the next four years.  

What are we doing right now? Next week we’ll be hosting an in-person event on exactly these issues with an elected politician who can speak to us in honest and practical terms about how we operate in this new/old administration reality. We’re also continuing to hone our policy paper, with some tweaks for potential new audiences.  

One of the best things about working at All Places is feeling that, even when the political climate seems tough, our work feels meaningful. You all didn’t throw your hands up in the air and stop running your businesses last Wednesday. You carried on because what you are doing matters to you, matters to your family, matters to your employees, matters to your customer, and matters to the world. You all inspire us to keep calm (read: angry) and carry on.