WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden accused the Trump administration of continuing to obstruct the transition process, warning that an awkward transfer could leave an opening for America’s opponents to exploit.
Biden called on the Department of Defense’s political leadership to prevent his team from getting an adequate picture of military operations and posture around the world. He also said that his team was not getting enough information about the government’s budget planning currently underway for him to inherit.
“We encountered obstacles with the political leadership of the Department of Defense and the Office of Administration and Budget,” said Biden during a speech on Monday in Wilmington, Delaware. “At the moment, we are simply not getting all the information we need from the outgoing administration in the main areas of national security. It is nothing less than, in my view, irresponsibility ”.
Transition team officials have been raising concerns about the Department of Defense for weeks, although Monday’s comments were Biden’s most compelling comments on the matter. Kash Patel, a loyal to Trump who was recently appointed Pentagon chief of staff, has been controlling the Biden transition team’s access to Pentagon officials, NBC News reported earlier this month. A Biden transition officer told reporters on Dec. 18 that the Department of Defense abruptly interrupted meetings for two weeks during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said in a statement after the report that the department would “continue to provide all necessary support to the Agency’s Review Team to keep our nation and its citizens safe”, saying that they were taking a “mutually agreed holiday break.”
After meeting with a group of national security and foreign policy advisers on Monday, Biden painted a terrible picture of the apparatus he hopes to inherit – describing empty agencies and countries that have lost confidence in US foreign policy. He emphasized the need to rebuild alliances with other countries.
“Many of the agencies that are essential to our security have suffered enormous damage,” said Biden. “Many have been drained in terms of personal and moral capacity.”
Biden also mentioned his plans to slow down Trump’s immigration policies, although he emphasized that this would take time. Immigration advocates said they were concerned about the lack of attention that immigration issues have received from Biden, who did not list her as one of his top priorities.
“We will work with purpose, diligence and responsibility to reverse Trump’s restrictions from day one,” said Biden. “But it’s not as simple as turning on a switch to turn everything back on, especially in a pandemic.”
