Just days before James Polk took office in 1845, his predecessor, John Tyler, signed the Texas statehood bill into law. Annexing Texas created problems with Mexico, which still considered Texas its own. As President, Polk had to deal with the consequences and ended up presiding over the Mexican War. The National Commission on Presidential Transitions and Foreign Policy, held in 1986, made suggestions for enabling greater continuity in foreign policy from one administration to another. The Commission was co-chaired by former Secretaries of State William P. Rogers and Cyrus R. Vance.

The National Commission on Presidential Transitions and Foreign Policy (1986)

Read the Commission's Final Report (Adobe Acrobat)

Co-Chairs:

William P. Rogers, U.S. Attorney General, 1957-1961; U.S. Secretary of State, 1969-1973

Cyrus R. Vance, U.S. Secretary of State, 1977-1980

Commissioners:

David E. Bell, Assistant to the Chief, Fiscal Division, Bureau of the Budget, 1948-1949; Administrative Assistant to the President, 1951-1953

Harold Brown, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1977-1981

Phillip W. Buchen, Counsel to the President, 1974-1977

Clark Clifford, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1968-1969

Walter Cronkite, Anchorman, CBS Evening News, 1962-1981

David R. Gergen, Special Counsel to the President, 1975-1977; Editor, U.S. News & World Report; (Counselor to the President; Director of Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University)

General Andrew J. Goodpaster, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander and Commander in Chief, United States European Command, 1969-1974

Carol C. Laise, U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, 1966-73

Charles McC. Mathias, U.S. Senator from Maryland, 1969-1987

Jane Cahill Pfeiffer, Chairman of NBC, 1978-1980

Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State, 1961-1969

Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Counsel for President Kennedy, 1961-1963 (Of Counsel, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison)

Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., President & Chairman, National Urban League; Chairman, Presidential Transition Team, 1992; (Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co.)

Jack H. Watson, Jr., White House Chief of Staff, 1980-1981

Commission Director:

Kenneth W. Thompson, Director of the Miller Center, 1978-1998