President-elect Biden said many American security forces were “devastated” under President Trump, and the lack of necessary information provided to his transition team by the outgoing administration is “irresponsible.”
“We faced obstacles from the political leadership in the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget,” Biden said after meeting with his foreign policy team.
“We are not getting all the information we need from the outgoing administration in key areas of national security. In my opinion, this is nothing more than irresponsibility, ”he added.
After Biden defeated Trump in the November 3 elections, the team of the former Vice President of the United States only began meeting with administration officials in late November to agree on the transfer of powers.
Earlier this month, Biden’s team said they faced opposition to their requests for information from some Pentagon officials.
The Department of Defense has rejected previous complaints from Biden’s team. A senior Defense Department official said last week that the Pentagon had already held 163 meetings and responded to 181 requests for information. The U.S. Department of Defense will continue to work with Biden’s transition team.
“We have faced obstacles from the political leadership of this department (Pentagon). And the truth is, many agencies that are critical to our security have suffered enormous damage, ”Biden said after meeting with his foreign policy team. “Many agencies that are critical to our security have suffered enormous damage. Many of them were devastated: the lack of staff, limited opportunities and reduced morale. “