WASHINGTON – President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said on Monday that his transition team faced “obstruction” from the Department of Defense, raising new concerns about the Trump administration’s cooperation with transition officials just over three weeks before the Induction Day.
“At the moment, we are simply not getting all the information we need from the outgoing government in the main areas of national security,” said Biden in Wilmington, Del., After he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were informed by team members. review of the transition agency for agencies dealing with national security and foreign policy, such as the Departments of Defense and State.
“It’s nothing short of irresponsible, in my opinion,” said Biden.
In his speech, the president-elect said that his team had “faced obstacles” by political leaders from the Department of Defense and also from the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Biden emphasized the importance of a smooth transition, saying: “Right now, as our country is in a period of transition, we need to make sure that nothing is lost in the transfer between administrations.”
“My team needs a clear picture of our strength’s stance around the world and our operations to stop our enemies,” he continued. “We need full visibility of the budget planning underway at the Department of Defense and other agencies, in order to avoid any window of confusion or recovery that our opponents might try to exploit.”
In a statement on Monday, interim defense secretary Christopher C. Miller defended the department’s level of cooperation with Biden’s team. He said the department was continuing to “schedule additional meetings for the remainder of the transition and respond to any and all requests for information within our reach”
“Our DOD political and career officials have been working with the utmost professionalism to support transition activities on a short schedule and will continue to do so in a transparent and collegial manner that maintains the department’s best traditions,” Mr. Miller said . “The American people expect nothing less, and that is what I remain committed to.”
Biden’s transition was hampered at first by the Trump administration’s delay in formally designating Biden as the apparent winner of the election. The head of the General Services Administration did not take this step until 23 November.
More recently, Biden and his team have complained about their negotiations with the Pentagon in particular.
A week before Christmas, Yohannes Abraham, the executive director of the Biden transition, said the president-elect’s team encountered “isolated resistance in some quarters, including from political appointees within the Department of Defense.” He expressed concern at what he described as “an abrupt interruption to the already limited cooperation there.”
Mr. Miller cited a “mutually agreed holiday break”, but Mr. Abraham said that such a deal was not made.
And last week, during an event where Biden criticized President Trump for minimizing the Russian invasion of the federal government and private companies, Biden said, “The Department of Defense doesn’t even tell us about many things.” The department responded by calling this statement “patently false”.
Following the post-election resignation of Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper by Mr. Trump and a purge of senior department leadership, the Pentagon was placed under the political control of several Trump supporters, including Kashyap Patel, Mr. Miller, best known for his efforts to discredit Russia’s investigation when he was a Republican aide in Congress.
But even as Biden complained on Monday about the lack of cooperation from some political appointees in the Trump administration, he also praised career officials from the federal government who worked with members of his transition. “For some agencies, our teams have received exemplary cooperation from the career team,” he said.
Biden also made a pessimistic assessment of the tribute that four years of Trump’s presidency had on the country’s national security apparatus.
“The truth is that many of the agencies that are essential to our security have suffered enormous damage,” said the president-elect. “Many of them have been depleted – in personnel, capacity and morale.”
Biden emphasized the promise to rebuild alliances and restore America’s position in the world, and has already appointed most of its top foreign policy and national security officials – although it has not yet announced its choice to lead the CIA.
Since winning the election, the president-elect has received calls with a long list of foreign leaders and, in his comments on Monday, he reiterated his desire to repair relationships that were damaged during the Trump administration.
“At the moment, there is a huge vacuum,” said Biden. “We will have to regain the confidence of a world that has started to find ways to work around us or work without us.”
Michael Crowley contributed reports.