Biden warns of Trump officials’ ‘roadblocks’ to transition

President-elect Joe Biden is warning of massive damage done to the national security apparatus by the Trump administration and “roadblocks” in communication between agency officials and his transition team that could undermine Americans’ security.

During remarks Monday in Wilmington, Del., Biden said his team has faced “obstruction” from the “political leadership” at the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget as they’ve sought to gather necessary information to continue the transition of power.

“Right now we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility,” Biden said.

He warned that his team needs “full visibility” into the budget process at the Defense Department “in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit.”

Biden’s remarks came after he was briefed by members of his national security and defense teams and advisers, including his nominees for secretary of State, Defense and Homeland Security, as well as his incoming national security adviser. The president-elect said his team found that agencies “critical to our security have incurred enormous damage” during President Trump’s time in office.

“Many of them have been hollowed out in personnel, capacity and in morale. … It makes it harder for our government to protect the American people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Washington’s year-end burst of deal-making brought renewed hope for a productive, successful first 100 days in office.

The city’s fever broke, at least momentarily, as longtime combatants finally forged a COVID-19 relief deal that carried with it dozens of smaller bills, offering proof that Capitol Hill’s damaged systems and norms can still produce meaningful legislation — at least when backed up against the wall.

Most of Biden’s 36 years in the Senate came in an era when Washington functioned far better. As president he will be seeking to restore at least the veneer of good faith and bipartisanship that defined those times and cast aside the divisions of the tea party era and four years of President Trump.

Just as lawmakers celebrated their success, Trump on Tuesday night demanded changes to the bill — boosting direct payments to individuals from $600 to $2,000 — and suggested he might not sign it. The bill passed by veto-proof margins, but if Trump were to succeed in killing the bill, resuscitating the measure would likely be job No. 1 in a Biden-led Washington. In prior will-he-or-won’t-he high-wire acts, Trump has signed big spending bills, but it’s anybody’s guess now.

In that context, the year-end deal — powered by the imperative to deliver pandemic relief to a struggling nation — is a good omen.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2WRrbRt