Congress appropriated $6 million for the president-elect and his transition team in the fiscal 2017 budget, which began Oct. 1 of this year, according to the General Services Administration, the federal agency that manages government space and services.

Another $1 million is set aside to help prepare new appointees, while $2.5 million is allocated to help the Obama administration on the way out, the GSA said. Must be another “Executive Relocation Package.” Typical moving expenses.

A spokesman for the GSA said the Trump team has not sought reimbursement for use of space in a Trump property or golf course. The final call for transition payments is still months away.

The law covering transition spending, the Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act of 1988, says nothing about self-dealing and has never been tested by a president-elect whose business holdings could directly benefit.

That public money will be supplemented by private donations given to Trump for America Inc., a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt nonprofit separate from the campaign and launched earlier this year. In exchange for the government’s support, the transition teams must agree to $5,000 limits for each private individual and corporate donor.

Trump’s private transition fund has already proven a valuable target for donors seeking to double down on the support they gave Trump before the election — or make amends for not backing the president-elect’s campaign.

Fundraising for that effort has been in full swing for weeks. A few days before the election, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Heritage Foundation president Ed Feulner hosted a $5,000-per-person fundraiser and transition “information session” at the Washington office of BakerHostetler, a law firm that has pocketed nearly $2 million in lobbying income this year.

Who’s donating to Trump’s transition? We probably won’t know until Trump has assumed power. The first disclosure filing, required in exchange for the GSA’s services, is not due until 30 days after the Jan. 20 inauguration. Does that answer your question Lizzy?

The Trump Foundation, a regular channel for donations to Trump, could also delay reporting its 2016 tax returns until November 2017, meaning voters won’t know who gave Trump money during his transition stage until nearly the end of his first year in office.

The 73 days between election and inauguration are a period of costly chaos: The president-elect must make 4,100 political appointments, 1,100 of which need Senate confirmation. Trump has held more than 60 meetings since the election to plan and staff his administration, Miller said Wednesday. 4,100 political appointments. Wow! I hope they are brought on to “drain the swamp” and then exit themselves. Ouch!

The public funding will cover the costs of a transition operation at GSA headquarters in downtown Washington, where the transition staff is vetting candidates for thousands of the positions it needs to fill across the government with political appointees. Doesn’t this practice need to end?

Past presidential transitions have generally relied on that government-provided office space and other “in-kind” help. But there are exceptions: In 2008, President-elect Barack Obama’s team worked out of a Chicago transition office chosen by GSA officials.

Trump’s transition team will have more public money at their disposal than past transition efforts. Obama’s team spent $5.2 million in appropriated public dollars and $4 million in private donations, data show. George W. Bush’s 2000 transition spent $5 million in private money and $4 million in public funds.