President-elect Joe Biden painted a stark landscape of the state’s national security and foreign policy agencies, warning that in President Trump’s four years in office, those departments have suffered “tremendous damage” and “eroded. In terms of staff,” capacity and morale. “
Regarding the agencies’ appraisal process that took place in the weeks following the election, Mr. Biden said that his teams working on state appraisal from the federal government have, in some cases, received “exemplary cooperation” from career staff.
But from others, “particularly the Defense Department, we encountered impediments to political leadership,” he said.
“The truth is, many of the agencies critical to our security have suffered tremendous damage,” said the president-elect.
Mr. Biden said the actions of the Trump administration “make it more difficult for our administration to protect the American people, to defend our vital interests.”
The president-elect’s comments followed a briefing from members of his national security and foreign policy review teams “on their findings and the key challenges that the Biden-Harris administration will inherit,” his transition team said before his comments.
Mr Biden said it is crucial to ensure that ‘nothing is lost’ during the change in presidential governments and stressed that his team must have a ‘clear picture’ of the country’s armed forces worldwide and operations against enemies. deter, and visibility “in ongoing budget planning at the Pentagon and other agencies to” avoid any window of confusion or catching up “that can be exploited by enemies.
“We have encountered obstacles from political leadership in the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget,” said Mr. Biden. “Right now, we just don’t get all the information we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It is nothing short in my view of irresponsibility. “
The president-elect said that during the Trump administration, his agency’s review teams discovered that policy processes were “atrophied or sidelined.” The US, he said, “will regain our credibility to run the free world.”
“Right now there is a huge vacuum,” said Mr Biden. “We will have to regain the trust and confidence of a world that has come to find ways to work around us or to work without us.”
The president-elect began with his remarks, acknowledging the explosion that shook downtown Nashville on Christmas morning and praising the Nashville police officers who quickly evacuated the area before the blast, as well as the firefighters who responded.
“Their courage and cold-bloodedness probably saved lives and prevented a worse outcome, and we are eternally grateful,” he said.
In comments before meeting advisers, Mr. Biden said that in the four years of the Trump administration, the nation saw that “our security was jeopardized by the self-reliant approach under this administration.”
“The truth is that the challenges we face today cannot be solved by a country acting alone,” he said. “They demand American leadership. They demand cooperation with our allies and our partners.”
The President-elect has spoken out on the many challenges his government will face once he takes office, the most important of which will undo the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and limit the spread of the virus.
Mr. Biden will also be tasked with responding to the massive cyber attack which affected numerous government agencies, including the Ministries of Energy, State and Finance.
The perpetrators of the offense, presumably committed by Russian hackers, infiltrated computer networks through a popular software product from SolarWinds, a Texas-based company that also partners with many of the country’s largest companies. The full extent of the cyber attack and the damage done remains unclear. Mr. Biden last week condemned Mr. Trump for allowing the breach under his watch and vowed to take it seriously.
The president-elect said he has seen or heard no evidence to suggest the breach is under control, adding, “The Department of Defense won’t even inform us about many things.” However, a Defense Department official disputed that.
Briefings between the transition team and the Department of Defense have been paused for the holidays and will resume in early January, according to Pentagon officials, who said the vacation break was mutually agreed. The transition team said there was no agreed break.
Ellee Watson contributed to this report