Some members in the federal workforce are voicing concerns about the incoming Trump administration's readiness to assume control of the federal bureaucracy on Friday, citing unread transition memos, vacant administration posts and a host of appointees with scant government experience.Staffers at the most senior levels, including in the White House and at federal agencies, have met with their incoming counterparts. Deeper into the hierarchy, however, there's been little contact between the staffers currently operating the levers of government and the team who takes over when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in at noon on January 20."I don't think they are ready for prime-time," said a longtime Obama administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe concerns about the state of the transition."They are not ready," said a Republican who is close to Trump's transition.Deep differences over policy and tone have divided the incoming and outgoing administrations for months, but both sides have insisted that political differences would not prevent a smooth hand off of power. Indeed, the Obama and Trump teams have made shows of cooperation, including last week when top members of Trump's incoming Cabinet and White House staff participated in tabletop exercises with Obama's team.But officials at the White House and federal agencies who have been preparing for months to hand off memos with detailed instructions on presidential logistics and navigating the federal bureaucracy say there's no one in place to deliver their documents to -- and have little faith those people will be named by Friday.At a White House function Monday for Obama aides who have served for all eight years of the administration, senior officials were heard wondering aloud whether to expect any contact from the Trump administration before they packed their desks and vacated their offices."People running major offices in the White House currently have had no contact with their successors," said one person who attended the function. "It is stunning. And we always kept thinking they're going to have a plan, they're going to come through at the last minute. We're less than 48 hours away. This should be concerning to anyone."Trump's national security transition team has been slow to interact with the Obama administration's National Security Council, according to a source close to the transition, who cited delays in the appointments of key staff and getting required security clearances. NSC staff have written a series of briefing materials to bring the Trump team up to speed and there is uncertainty within the Obama administration on whether Trump's team have read them, the source said.
Trump's transition on Wednesday downplayed any suggestion the transition was lagging behind."The level and comprehensive nature by which this transition has conducted itself will become the gold standard going forward, because it's not just the nominees and the prep and the White House staff, but it's the level of continuity of government, and peaceful transfer of power, that we have concentrated on," said Sean Spicer, Trump's incoming White House Press Secretary, on Wednesday."I would just give a shout out to the Obama administration," he said. "President Obama, Mrs. Obama, Denis McDonough, and their various counterparts, especially on the White House staff, have been really gracious with their time and their support on the logistical nature to make sure that we have the support that we need."Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford also had reassuring comments Wednesday."We talked about the state and nonstate challenges we have [and] spoke about our priorities we've had in our national military strategy," Dunford said of his transition team discussions, according to DoD News.According to a person close to the transition, Trump's new administration does have beachhead teams prepared to walk into each agency on Friday when Trump is sworn in. These teams range in size, from one to 30 people, and are staff-level jobs, which don't require Senate confirmation. Technically temporary presidential appointments, atleast some of those hires are expected to become permanent once the administration gets fully up and running.But the transition source conceded Wednesday that beyond the Cabinet level posts, thetop tiers of leadership in various federal departments remain largely unknown.Republicans who have observed the transition at close range describe a stalled hiring process after Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor, was ousted from his role leadingthe transition team shortly following November's election.
No comments:
Post a Comment