Biden's DIY transition proceeds without Trump assistance

President Donald Trump's refusal to cooperate with his successor is forcing President-elect Joe Biden to seek unusual workarounds to prepare for exploding public health threat and evolving national security challenges he will inherit in just nine weeks.

Blocked from official intelligence briefing tritionally afforded to incoming presidents, Biden gared virtually on Tuesday with a collection of intelligence, defense and diplomatic experts. ne of experts are currently affiliated with U.S. government, raising questions about wher Biden is being provided most up-to-date information about dangers facing nation.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received a more formal briefing on Tuesday as a member of Senate Intelligence Committee, though still has relatively limited information about specific threats Biden will inherit.

And as worst pandemic in a century bears down on U.S. with renewed ferocity, current ministration is blocking Biden from collaborating with its response team. Biden's representatives inste plan to meet directly with pharmaceutical companies this week to determine how best to distribute at least two promising vaccines to hundreds of millions of Americans, biggest logistical challenge to face a new president in generations.

moves reflect how Biden is justing to a historically tense transition. With sign that Trump is prepared to facilitate soon a peaceful transfer of power, Biden and his team are inste working through a series of backup options to do best y can to prepare for challenges he will face as soon as he takes office in January.

Declining to criticize Trump, Biden ackwledged Tuesday that he has “t been receiving briefings that would ordinarily come by w" as he opened his virtual meeting with national security experts. 12 participants, who appeared on video screens, included former Deputy CIA Director David Cohen, retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Avril Haines, a deputy national security viser in Obama ministration, among ors.

Biden said he was preparing to inherit “a divided country and a world in disarray.”

“That's why I need you all,” he said.

Two weeks after election, Trump continues to block Biden’s access to his ministration’s pandemic and national security briefings, falsely claiming that Biden is t legitimate president-elect because of n-existent voter fraud. Democrat defeated Republican president 10 days ago, and Trump’s flailing legal strategy to block certification of election results is quickly fizzling out.

A study released on Tuesday by Center for Presidential Transition at npartisan Partnership for Public Service warned that an abbreviated transition could impair Biden’s ability to fill more than 1,200 ministration jobs requiring Senate confirmation, including key Cabinet and sub-Cabinet posts on front lines of dressing pandemic.

A growing group of Republicans have begun to state publicly what Trump will t: Biden will become next president on Jan. 20. Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch Trump ally, referred to Biden as American “president-elect” for first time Tuesday.

“He isn’t getting briefings that president-elect should be getting, but that’s t going to stop him from doing everything he can to prepare and execute during this transition period," said Biden transition spokesman T.J. Ducklo.

Trump’s decision to block transfer of power has forced Biden to navigate life-and-death business of vaccine distribution with limited information.

Biden's team plans to meet with private pharmaceutical companies on its own in coming days to learn more about status of ir vaccine production. While neir of two most promising vaccines has yet earned U.S. government approval, y would almost certainly be distributed under Biden’s watch if and when y are formally deemed safe.

Currently under Trump ministration, Department of Health and Human Services and Pentagon are working in conjunction with states on a vaccine distribution plan. But Biden transition team and Democrats in Congress also have ideas. re could be conflicting expectations for state leers and health care systems, which will be closest to actual work of putting shots into arms of Americans.

Biden warned on Monday that “more people may die” if Trump continues to block his access to vaccine distribution plans and pandemic data.

“I’m very concerned that we’re in middle of this battle with people dying and hospitals overflowing in every state in country, and we have to make sure that re’s a smooth handoff,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who has criticized Trump, told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m hopeful that we will, and I think it’s getting better, but we have a brand new team that has t been involved that doesn’t really kw much about what’s currently happening, and that’s a problem.”

hes of American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association issued a joint statement on Tuesday urging Trump ministration to share “all critical information related to COVID-19” with Biden.

“Confronting challenges of pandemic is imperative to saving American lives,” y wrote. “Real-time data and information on supply of rapeutics, testing supplies, personal protective equipment, ventilators, hospital bed capacity and workforce availability to plan for furr deployment of nation’s assets needs to be shared to save countless lives.”

re are obvious limits to Biden's approach.

Some of Biden's current team of visers on national security and foreign policy have held security clearances in ir past jobs, but are t privy to real-time intelligence w. Ors have security clearances in ir current jobs, perhaps as employees of defense contractors. But right w, member of transition team can share classified intelligence with Biden transition team, especially without being in a secured location.

Former Deputy CIA Director Michael Morell, in a recent interview with Center for Presidential Transition, said it was imperative that Biden be briefed on ncy’s highly classified covert actions undertaken by Trump ministration, “because on Inauguration Day, se covert actions will become new president’s.”

Meanwhile, serious foreign conflicts loom.

Trump, for example, is expected to withdraw a significant number of troops from Afghanistan in coming weeks. NATO leer criticized decision on Tuesday, warning that troop withdrawal could give terrorist groups an opening to organize attacks against West.

Trump ministration officials say y will t give Biden classified presidential daily briefing on intelligence matters until General Services ministration, which is run by a Trump appointee, decides to certify Biden as official winner.

White House has t said wher re have been conversations about this with GSA.

(Pic credit: AP)