‘Enormous damage’ to US security agencies by Trump, says Biden

US President-elect Joe Biden said that agencies  critical to US security have suffered “enormous damage” at the hands of the Trump administration

He spoke after a briefing by national security and foreign policy aides.

He said that his team was not getting the information it needed, including from the Department of Defense, as it makes its transition to power.

He said in a speech after a video conference call with advisers that his team was facing “roadblocks” in the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget.

 “Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas,” he said.

 “It is nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility.”

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 He further said that his team needed a “clear picture of our force posture around the world” and that US adversaries could exploit any confusion that resulted.

 He said, “Many of the agencies that are critical to our security have incurred enormous damage.

 “Many of them have been hollowed out in personnel, capacity, and morale. The policy processes have atrophied or have been sidelined.”

 After Biden’s statements, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said officials had been “working with the utmost professionalism to support transition activities”.

“The Department of Defense has conducted 164 interviews with over 400 officials and provided over 5,000 pages of documents – for more than initially requested by Biden’s transition team,” he said.

 A spokesman said the Pentagon had been “completely transparent” with the Biden team.