Fiscal year Quote by Corey R. Lewandowski
““By November 2016, the Obama administration had used up about 78 percent of the White House budget for its fiscal year, which begins and ends at the beginning of May. Meaning, the Trump transition didn’t have much to work with, and it left us only 22 percent of the budget, or about two and a half months of money, to pay federal salaries and upkeep costs from January 20 until the end of April. That meant, among other things, that we would have to go light on the lower-office appointments, at least for a little while.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on budget constraints, 2017
The early Trump administration faced a severely reduced budget, limiting its ability to fund appointments and operations during the transition period.
In simple terms: Limited funds forced a lean transition.
Key Takeaway
Plan and prioritize essential functions.
Themes
budget
government
transitions
Mood
concerned
pragmatic
Type
political
analytical
When to use this quote
- agency staffing
- policy rollout
- financial planning
- operational continuity
Key Concepts
fiscal constraints
resource allocation
Questions to Reflect On
- How can a government maintain effectiveness with constrained funding?
- What priorities should be set first?
A Different Perspective
Limited resources may hinder effective governance and long‑term planning.
![“The question was, have you heard from anyone on the [Donald] Trump transition team? We have not been contacted.” quote by Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/617/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_heard_the-question-was-have-you-heard-from-any_3016968.jpg)
![“The incompetence of the [Donald] Trump transition team, the likes of which we've never seen is a bad thing.” quote by Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0c0/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_bad-thing_the-incompetence-of-the-donald-trump-tra_2037653.jpg)
![“[This upset] means that means Donald Trump now has to transition to governance.” quote by Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e25/barack-obama-17_governance_this-upset-means-that-means-donald-trump_1744130.jpg)
![“The [Donald] Trump transition team is already functioning as the worst transition team we have ever seen. And the good news is the slower they do their work, the better off we are.” quote by Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/320/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_better-off_the-donald-trump-transition-team-is-alre_1439039.jpg)
