Obama demands political appointee resignations by Dec. 7

President Obama has given most presidential appointees until Dec. 7 to hand in their resignation in order to make room for new appointees under the Trump administration.

The Office of Personnel Management explained the process in a Friday memo to agencies.

"On November 7, 2016, President Barack Obama requested letters of resignation from all non-termed presidential appointees by December 7, 2016," the memo said. "This was done to provide the maximum flexibility to the President-elect in assembling his/her administration."

On Nov. 7, it wasn't clear yet who would win, but Trump ended up surprising almost everyone by defeating Hillary Clinton.

As a result of Obama's memo, the OPM will halt the processing of senior executive service reviews on Dec. 7.