By Stuart Ibberson, editor
Several news outlets are reporting that the Defense Department has halted transition meetings between DOD leadership and the incoming Biden team.
Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, citing a senior Pentagon official, reported Dec. 18 that the reason for the pause on transition meetings was because some of the Pentagon staff members involved in the transition feel “overwhelmed.”
Washington Post reporter Dan Lamothe, also reported that there have sometimes been as many as 20 meetings per day, even as officials dealt with other demands, and that some people had raised concerns.
“We had fewer than two dozen remaining meetings on the schedule today and next week,” a Pentagon official told Axios, explaining that the department is “taking a knee” for a couple of weeks rather than having those meetings but is “still committed to a productive transition.”
The reports prompted Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller to release a statements saying, meetings had been “paused” until after the holidays.
“The Department of Defense will continue to provide all required support to the Agency Review Team to keep our nation and her citizens safe,” Miller said. “As of today [Dec. 18], we have supported 139 interviews sessions more than 200 DOD personnel, 161 requests for information, and disclosed thousands of pages of non-public and classified documents, exceeding prior transitions. At no time has the Department cancelled or declined any interview.”
“Our key focus in the next two weeks is supporting essential requests for information on OWS and COVID-19 information to guarantee a flawless transition. This is my major focus area.
“After the mutually-agreed upon holiday pause, which begins tomorrow, we will continue with the transition and rescheduled meetings from today.”
Since the GSA administrator signed the necessary paperwork allowing the transition to move forward on Nov. 23 – almost three weeks after Election Day – the Pentagon has:
• Conducted 139 interviews with 265 officials
• Responded to 161 requests for information
• Provided 4,400 pages of controlled non-public information
• Provided 900 pages of classified information
Business Insider reported that a Pentagon official said that “the DoD staff working the meetings were overwhelmed by the number of meetings,” further stating that “these same senior leaders needed to do their day jobs and were being consumed by transition activities.”
Miller said the department is working to reschedule about 20 interviews with 40 officials after Jan. 1. He went on to say that DOD will continue to support the transition with reading materials, reporting requirements, and working with the Agency Review Team to quickly assist with political appointees of the new administration take their posts.
According to DOD information, only 40 percent of the Pentagon workforce is actually working in the building, while 60 percent are working from home. Miller said that all interviews are being conducted virtually “something that has never been done before.”
The situation may be complicated because the acting secretary has only been in the job since Nov. 9 when the former secretary, Mark Esper, was fired by President Trump. Esper’s departure came alongside numerous senior political appointees in the Pentagon either being fired, or resigning.
“Again, I remain committed to a full and transparent transition – this is what our nation expects and the DOD will deliver AS IT ALWAYS HAS,” Miller said in his statement.
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