The US Department of Defense is 'tense' in transferring power to Mr. Joe Biden
Yohannes Abraham, the executive director of the president-elect's transition team, has called on officials in the US Department of Defense to resume meetings and share information vital to national security.
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| Acting US Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. Photo: AP. |
Vice President-elect Joe Biden's transition team said yesterday (December 18) that they did not agree on a two-week break during transition negotiations with Department of Defense officials.
Tensions between the Defense Department and Biden's transition team came to the public's attention yesterday after Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said Biden's team had agreed to a two-week break from previously scheduled transition negotiations at the Pentagon. Miller said the Defense Department had postponed a series of meetings with Biden's transition team that were scheduled for yesterday, adding that they would be rescheduled after the holidays.
However, speaking to the press on the same day, Mr. Yohannes Abraham, Executive Director in charge of President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, said: "There is no agreement between the two sides to pause work during the holidays. In fact, we think it is very important to continue to conduct briefings and exchanges because we do not have time."
A Defense Department spokesman said the agency is “working to reschedule 20 interviews with 40 officials after January 1, 2021.” Only six meetings are scheduled for next week, according to a U.S. defense official.
Mr. Yohannes Abraham has called on officials in the Ministry of Defense to resume meetings and share information important to national security as well as ensure uninterrupted government operations.
Regarding the above developments, Axios news site quoted several sources from the Ministry of Defense as saying that the personnel there are being “overloaded” due to the transition process. In addition to the pressure from this process, the Ministry of Defense officials still have to take on daily tasks that are already very heavy.