Joe Biden said he was looking for a “clear picture” of the outgoing administration. (Archive)
Wilmington, United States:
President-elect Joe Biden said Monday that Donald Trump appointees at the Pentagon were stalling in transition and warned the United States faces security risks as a result.
After he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were briefed by their transition teams on national security, Biden said appointees at the Pentagon and the Office of Management and Budget had put up “roadblocks.”
“Right now, we are simply not getting all the information we need from the outgoing administration in key areas of national security,” Biden said after the briefing.
“It is nothing less, in my opinion, irresponsible.”
Biden said he was seeking a “clear picture” from the outgoing administration on the force posture of US troops around the world.
“We need full visibility into the budget planning that is taking place in the Department of Defense and other agencies to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit,” Biden said.
Trump has refused to grant the Nov. 3 election, which Biden won by some seven million votes and 306-232 in the Electoral College state by state. The president has made unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud.
The Trump administration has raised concerns by shaking the Pentagon leadership since the election, including the firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who had distanced himself from the president’s use of force against unarmed anti-racist protesters earlier this year.
Trump’s new acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller has said the outgoing administration had agreed with Biden’s people to pause briefings for the holiday season, a claim the incoming team called false.
Trump’s last-minute installation of Pentagon loyalists comes amid high tensions with Iran, whom Trump blamed for a rocket attack on the U.S. embassy in Iraq ahead of the January anniversary of the assassination of a top general. Iranian by the United States in Baghdad.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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