Presidential transition of Dwight D. Eisenhower

Presidential transition of Dwight D. Eisenhower

President-elect Eisenhower speaks with reporters while visiting the White House on November 18, 1952
Date of election	November 4, 1952
Inauguration date	January 20, 1953
President-elect	Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
Vice president-elect	Richard Nixon (Republican)
Outgoing president	Harry S. Truman (Democrat)
Outgoing vice president	Alben W. Barkley (Democrat)
Headquarters	Commodore Hotel, New York City
Leaders of the transition	Herbert Brownell Jr. and Lucius D. Clay

This article or section is part of a series about United States presidential transitions
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This article is part of a series about Dwight D. Eisenhower
Early Life Military Career World War II Supreme Allied Commander in Europe D-Day Operation Overlord Surrender of Germany VE-Day Crusade in Europe 34th President of the United States Presidency Timeline Transition Inaugurations first second First Term Korean War Atoms for Peace Cold War New Look Domino theory Interstate Highway System Second Term Eisenhower Doctrine Sputnik crisis Missile gap NDEA NASA DARPA Civil Rights Act of 1957 Little Rock Nine Admission of states Alaska Hawaii U-2 incident Farewell Address Kennedy transition Presidential campaigns 1952 campaign Draft movement Election 1956 campaign Election Post-Presidency Legacy Presidential library and museum Tributes and memorials
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The presidential transition of Dwight D. Eisenhower began when he won the United States 1952 United States presidential election, becoming the president-elect,^[1] and ended when Eisenhower was inaugurated on January 20, 1953.

The transition was the first United States presidential transition to employ a large-scale transition process, with Eisenhower's transition having a staff of more than 100 individuals.

The transition has been considered to have been a rough one, with much tension between the president-elect and the outgoing president, Harry S. Truman. Eisenhower and Truman had developed bitter feelings during the course of the 1952 election campaign, which lingered through the transition. Eisenhower and Truman only met once in person in the time between the election and the day of the inauguration. Eisenhower regarded the advice that Truman had attempted to provide him with as being of little value, and rejected an invitation for a second in-person meeting. Eisenhower also declined offers from Truman for him to be involved in the lame duck Truman administration's decision making during the transition period. There was mixed-success in coordination between the designated subordinates of the incoming Eisenhower administration and the outgoing subordinates of the Truman administration. After the election, Truman instructed White House staff and heads of government departments to prepare briefing documents for the incoming Eisenhower administration, and Eisenhower was the first president-elect to appoint liaison representatives for key federal agencies.

The transition took place amid active United States combat in the Korean War. Fulfilling a campaign promise to visit Korea if elected, two weeks after his election victory Eisenhower made a covert three-day visit to Korea.