President Bush has signed an executive order to facilitate the transition to a new administration that will take office on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.

White House press secretary Dana Perino says the order is designed to help coordinate efforts already under way to ensure a seamless transition. She said Bush wants to make sure the next president’s team has everything it needs to hit the ground running.

Although they don’t like to talk about it, both Barack Obama and John McCain already have designated officials to run their transition once the outcome of the Nov. 4 election is known. The team will set up procedures for selecting key personnel and making policy decisions in the 11 weeks between the election and the inauguration.