Efforts to prepare for a potential presidential transition had Mitt Romney won November’s election cost $8.9 million, with the former Republican presidential candidate hiring some 500 staff members to aid in a potential move to the White House.
According to documents obtained by Time Magazine, the design and construction of office space for the Romney staffers cost $2.5 million. The Romney team moved into multiple floors of the Mary E. Switzer federal building, just south of the National Mall, and spent $740,000 on office furniture and an additional $30,000 on office supplies. The Romney staff did not pay rent on their office space.
The transition team also purchased $5.6 million worth of computer equipment, cell phones, and communications furniture, although the General Services Administration says many of those technology purchases would be recycled by other government departments.Â
