As Trump refuses to concede, his agencies clumsily prepare what they can for a Biden transition

A division of the Department of Energy is quietly starting to prepare for Biden’s new administration even though no formal connection has been made, according to a member of the department’s staff.

“We had a call yesterday and talked about it a lot, and the direction we got was to expect a transition, start planning for it, think about what the Biden team would probably want to see and get started. to review these documents, and start thinking about how we frame our programs and our work in a way that is attractive to the Biden administration, ”the staff member told CNN.

The staff member clarified that this advice was not from those Trump’s appointees but from professional staff, and was purposely delivered as a phone call, not a memo, so as not to have written record.

“It’s not the leadership of the current Trump administration politicians, it’s basically staff below the political level,” the staff member said.

State Department officials are increasingly anxious and frustrated that they cannot interact with Biden’s transition team. “It’s frustrating on the one hand, but on the other hand it also hurts the morale of the department,” said a current official familiar with the break that has been put in place.

The preparations that career diplomats carry out, according to the law, have already been completed. Office space for transition teams – both State Department career officers assigned to this position by the State Department and the State Department team in Biden – are vacant.

“They did everything they could. Now they are just waiting,” said a source familiar with the process.

While the heads of the department realize they have no choice but to remain patient, recognizing that they will eventually work with the incoming team, they also believe the department needs attention. considerable and would like Biden’s team to enter as soon as possible. possible.

“I’m afraid they’ll open the hood, and it will be a lot worse than expected,” a second State Department official said.

A Treasury staff member said the Treasury Department “went through a standard transition process,” which began a month after the election. That process is ongoing, the source said, although there has been no communication regarding the Biden transition landing teams yet.

Within the Department of Homeland Security, Mark Koumans, a longtime DHS official who is leading the transition effort for the department, recently reminded staff that until there is a statement certifying the election, staff should refrain from speaking directly with members of the Biden team and continue to go through the department’s transition office, a department official told CNN.

Democratic congressional aides who deal with the agencies regularly say their contacts have been silent since the election, with one suspecting losing his job or being the target of a leak hunt – especially after that the chief of staff of the administration spread the word throughout the administration on Monday. that if he heard of anyone looking for another job, they would be made redundant, according to a senior official.

“The silence is still deafening,” said a DHS official when asked about raising leaders’ awareness of the transition. The department appears to be in a “wait and see” mode, the official added, saying any dealings with the Biden team before official certification appear “unlikely at this point.”

Mistakenly suggesting a second term for Trump

As Republicans in Congress come to the point that Biden won, some officials in Trump’s cabinet have stuck with his false claims, suggesting there will be a second term for Trump.

“Obviously, if there’s a transition here, we’re going to make sure it’s a professional and cooperative transition,” Azar said.

The White House’s budget office is even ordering agencies to prepare a budget for next year as if nothing changes, according to a person familiar with the plans. Another person said that while there hasn’t been an official note explaining this, the message to agencies is to proceed normally.

The formal transition will likely remain on hold until the election is certified by General Service Administration in a process called verification. This decision is made by GSA administrator Emily Murphy, a person appointed by Trump.

Congressional Democrats wrote to Murphy earlier this week requesting a briefing and saying that she “undermines the urgent need for a swift and effective transition of power amid a global pandemic that must be focused on security and the well-being of our citizens. “

Some Republicans have rallied to his defense. Georgia Representative Jody Hice, the top Republican on the House Government Operations subcommittee, wrote Murphy a letter Friday saying it was premature to decide Biden as president-elect.

Transition without formal transition

“We’re not interested in having a food fight with the GSA administrator or anyone. We just want access to intelligence information, threat assessments, ongoing work on Covid, so that we can prepare to rule, ”Biden said. spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.

But the delay has tangible effects.

Normally, an elected chair would immediately begin receiving the same confidential presentations as the chair. But so far, those briefings have not taken place for Biden, as the office of the Director of National Intelligence has not engaged with Biden’s team.

“Not only do they not have access to classified information or to funds already allocated, but they do not introduce their review teams to the agencies, and fail to know the real budget of the agencies and the real staff roster. Said Denis McDonough, who was President Barack Obama’s chief of staff.

‘The next best thing’

Michael Chertoff, who served as secretary of homeland security under President George W. Bush and helped the department transition to the Obama administration, said the department ran a simulation of what to do in the event of a pandemic, “so they can really get a feel for how things work in the levers of government.”

“Much of the history of this last administration and the next two months is disdain for the functioning of government,” Chertoff said. “It’s almost like it’s a determination that they want to destroy the government and make it as difficult as possible for the government to do its job. The problem is that a lot of people are dead, as we’ve seen with the virus.”

Since Trump’s sacking of Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, Biden’s transition team have contacted former Pentagon officials who worked for former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as they sought to gather information for a new Biden team, according to two former officials who were contacted by the transition team.

The conversations are the result of the inability to engage with current Pentagon officials at this time, the sources told CNN. They aim to give the transition team an understanding of what has happened within the ministry over the past four years. Politico first reported the communications.

Biden’s team is also aware that even when they are able to speak with current defense officials after the General Service Administration signed off on Biden’s victory, those officials may not be eager to speak out. engage or be as open as those who have already left.

Reaching out to former officials, said one of the former officials, is “the best thing to do.”