Donald Trump’s administration has abruptly stopped giving briefings to the incoming team of Joe Biden, with a report claiming the decision has caused shock among senior officials.
As Axios reported, acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt on cooperation with Biden officials, which the report claimed shocked leaders across the Defense Department. It was not clear if the move was permanent, as there were indications that the briefings could possibly resume after the upcoming holiday.
The outlet noted that it was not clear what brought on the decision or whether it was approved by Trump. The report noted that Miller issued an order on Thursday night for all officials within the Pentagon to cancel scheduled meetings. An official told Axios that the move was “a simple delay of the last few scheduled meetings until after the new year.”
“We had fewer than two dozen remaining meetings on the schedule today and next week,” the official said. “These same senior leaders needed to do their day jobs and were being consumed by transition activities…. With the holidays we are taking a knee for two weeks. We are still committed to a productive transition.”
The move comes as the United States reportedly faces significant national security threats. As Fox News reported, Russian cyberattacks have struck government agencies, compromising the agencies and infrastructure in what was said to be a sophisticated attack that was difficult to detect and may have caused lasting damage.
Trump was reportedly briefed on the attack but had not yet publicly commented. The lack of response has come under fire, with Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said the attack was the digital equivalent of “Russian bombers have been repeatedly flying undetected over our entire country.” Critics have long taken aim at Trump for failing to forcefully push back on Russian attacks, including its reported interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The Trump administration had delayed the transition for Biden as the president continued to insist that he was the real winner of the 2020 presidential election, making claims that he was the victim of widespread fraud. Trump’s team held back on signing an authorization that would have given Biden’s team resources and access to parts of the administration, leading experts to worry that it could set back Biden and create potential risks for national security once he took office. Trump has still not conceded to Biden, instead leading a series of court challenges seeking to overturn the results of the race.
