Departure instructions

Trump administration staffers receive departure instructions

The internal communication contradicts the ongoing public effort by the president to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election.

By QUINT FORGEY and DANIEL LIPPMAN

Staffers in the Executive Office of the President were informed Tuesday that they “will start departing” on the week of Jan. 4, according to an email from the White House Management Office.

The memo, which was obtained by POLITICO, also included information pertaining to outgoing employees’ payroll, benefits, sick leave, work records, ethics debriefing and security clearance.

Staffers were notified that they would receive a “comprehensive checklist” in the coming days and directed to “take inventory of your office space.”

Other bullet points in the memo mentioned “cleaning out your refrigerator and microwave,” and returning “all White House stationery” and “Presidential gifts.” Work supplies “will be disinfected upon return,” the memo said.

The internal White House communication contradicts the ongoing public effort by President Donald Trump and his top aides to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows reportedly visited Georgia on Tuesday to observe local officials’ audit of absentee ballot envelope signatures — a process demanded by the president as part of his bid to overturn the battleground state’s election results.

And as recently as Tuesday night, Trump had mused in a video message posted to Twitter that perhaps the next administration “will be me.”