President-elect Joe Biden on Monday slammed Donald Trump 's administration for not co-operating with the transition process, spe...
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday slammed Donald Trump's administration for not co-operating with the transition process, specifically singling out the Pentagon for 'obstruction.'
'Right now we just aren't getting the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas,' he said during brief remarks in Wilmington, Del., after a briefing with his national security team.
'It's nothing short in my view of irresponsibility,' he noted.
His charges come after reports of difficulties with the incumbent administration as the Inauguration Day approaches.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris held a virtual briefing with their top national security officials, including their nominees for secretary of state and defense secretary, as they prepare to take office on January 20th.
'We need to make sure that nothing is lost in the hand-off between the administrations,' the president-elect argued.
The White House did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
A Biden transition official told DailyMail.com the Pentagon was denying and delaying meetings with officials.
'The Department of Defense has continued to deny and delay meetings with our Agency Review Team members. There has been no substantial progress since transition officials spoke to the intransigence of the Department’s political leadership earlier this month. As the President-elect alluded to, no Department is more pivotal to our national security than the Department of Defense, and an unwillingness to work together could have consequences well beyond January 20,' the official said.
The transition process was slow to get started as officials waited on the General Services Administration to issue a letter of ascertainment, which allowed government officials to begin formal communication with Biden's team.
The Trump appointed GSA chief didn't issue the letter until November 23. Since then there have been reports the Pentagon has stopped briefing Biden transition officials.
Biden argued there was a national security risk in what was happening with the Trump-appointed officials.
'We need full visibility into the budget planning underway at the defense department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion our catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit,' Biden said. 'As I said from the beginning, we have encountered road blocks from the political leadership to the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget.'
President-elect Joe Biden slammed Donald Trump's administration for not cooperating with the transition process, particularly in the area of national security
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris held a virtual briefing with their national security team on Monday in Wilmington
President Donald Trump played golf at his West Palm Beach golf course on Monday
Biden also issued a grave warning of 'enormous damage' done to America's national security agencies.
'Many of them have been hollowed out in personnel, capacity and in morale,' he said. 'It makes it harder for our government to protect the American people.'
Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, who took over the job after Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper in November, said on December 18th the Pentagon and the Biden team had agreed to a pause in briefings over the holidays.
'At no time has the Department cancelled or declined any interview,' he told Axios in mid-December. 'After the mutually-agreed upon holiday, which begins tomorrow, we will continue with the transition and rescheduled meetings from today.'
But the Biden transition team, at the time, said there was no agreed upon holiday break.
'Let me be clear: there was no mutually agreed upon holiday break,' Biden transition director Yohannes Abraham said at the time.
'In fact, we think it's important that briefings and other engagements continue during this period as there's no time to spare, and that's particularly true in the aftermath of ascertainment delay,' Abraham noted.
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