Chris MIller, the appearing Secretary of Protection, has ordered the Pentagon to halt President-elect Joe Biden’s transition briefings. A prime Biden transition official was unaware of the transfer.
Conferences between the Pentagon and members of Biden’s transition group have continued to satisfy since President Donald Trump allowed the transition to proceed after weeks of delay, however late final night time Miller ordered officers to cancel remaining conferences that have been nonetheless on the schedule.
A senior Protection Division official mentioned the transfer quantities to “ “a easy delay of the previous couple of scheduled conferences till after the brand new yr.”
The official mentioned: “We had fewer than two dozen remaining conferences on the schedule right this moment and subsequent week… the DoD workers working the conferences have been overwhelmed by the variety of conferences.” They added that “These similar senior leaders wanted to do their day jobs and have been being consumed by transition actions. … With the vacations we’re taking a knee for 2 weeks. We’re nonetheless dedicated to a productive transition.”
It’s unclear if President Trump, who has continued to assert the 2020 election was fraudulent regardless of authorizing the transition and the Electoral Faculty certifying Biden’s win earlier this week, accredited of Miller’s directive.
Miller was appointed on November 9 after Trump fired former Protection Secretary Mark Esper. He has leveraged his place to make coverage modifications affecting the particular operations group, in line with a report final month, together with his announcement that the US would draw down its presence to 2,500 troops by January 15 in each Afghanistan and Iraq.
Alan is a author, editor, and information junkie based mostly in New York.
