Biden’s transition team criticizes the Pentagon’s collaboration

WILMINGTON, Del. President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team on Friday expressed frustration at the level of cooperation they are getting from political officials at the Department of Defense, saying that “the already limited cooperation there has come to an abrupt end.”

Biden’s transition team met with officials from various agencies to get detailed assessments of the programs and challenges the new government will inherit, a process that was delayed when the General Services Administration declined to issue official confirmation that Biden had the election won. The delay came when President Donald Trump, whose appointee headed the GSA, refused to admit.

Yohannes Abraham, executive director of the transition, told reporters that Biden’s office review teams at DOD heard on Thursday that meetings were “being cut short” and reported it immediately. Abraham called for meetings and asked for information to be resumed immediately.

“If we don’t work together, it could affect well beyond January,” said Abraham.

The Pentagon offered a different review on Friday. It issued a statement saying there was a “mutually agreed vacation break” starting Saturday.

Defense officials said some meetings had been postponed so that department staff could focus on the issues related to the possibility of a partial government shutdown on Friday night if Congress could not agree on COVID-19’s emergency response legislation . Congress approved a two-day emergency stop on Friday evening, preventing a shutdown. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

“Our main focus over the next two weeks is to support critical requests for information” about Operation Warp Speed ​​and Covid-19 to “ensure a smooth transition,” said Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.

“Let me be clear: there was no mutually agreed upon vacation interruption,” argued Abraham. “In fact, we think it’s important that briefings and other assignments continue during this time, as there is no time left.”

Miller was hired a little over five weeks ago, after Trump fired then-Pentagon chief Mark Esper. Miller quickly replaced a number of top policy advisers with Trump loyalists who may be less willing or able to participate effectively in the transition process.

Miller said the department remains committed to a full and transparent transition and is working to reschedule approximately 20 interviews with 40 officials beyond January 1. He said the department has already conducted 139 interviews and provided 5,300 pages of non-public or classified information.

Abraham made it clear that Biden’s transition team was not satisfied with that decision. Biden becomes president on the afternoon of January 20.

“There have been many agencies and departments that have facilitated the exchange of information and meetings in recent weeks,” said Abraham. “There is unruliness, and DOD is one of them.”

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