Biden says Trump Pentagon stalling transition, posing risks – Times of India
WILMINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden mentioned Monday that Donald Trump‘s appointees on the Pentagon have been stalling on the transition and warned that the United States faces safety risks because of this.
After he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been briefed by their transition groups on nationwide safety, Biden mentioned that political appointees on the Pentagon in addition to the Office of Management and Budget had put up “roadblocks.”
“Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security area(s),” Biden mentioned after the briefing.
“It is nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility.”
Biden mentioned he was looking for a “clear picture” from the outgoing administration on the pressure posture of US troops world wide.
“We need full visibility into the budget planning underway at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit,” Biden mentioned.
Trump has refused to concede the November 3 election, which Biden gained by some seven million votes and by 306-232 within the state-by-state Electoral College. The president has made unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud.
The Trump administration has drawn concern by shaking up the management of the Pentagon for the reason that election together with firing protection secretary Mark Esper, who had distanced himself from the president’s use of pressure towards unarmed anti-racism demonstrators earlier this 12 months.
Trump’s new performing protection secretary, Chris Miller, has mentioned that the outgoing administration had agreed with Biden’s individuals to pause briefings for the vacation season, an assertion that the incoming staff referred to as unfaithful.
Miller launched an announcement Monday saying the Pentagon’s coordination efforts with the transition staff “already surpass those of recent administrations with over three weeks to go.”
He added that Department of Defense officers would proceed working in a “transparent and collegial manner” to assist the transition.
Trump’s final-minute set up of loyalists on the Pentagon comes amid excessive tensions with Iran, which Trump blamed for a rocket assault on the US embassy in Iraq forward of the January anniversary of the US killing in Baghdad of a prime Iranian common.
