Why do career civil servants and Biden’s transition team care whether or not Trump commissars listen in on transition briefings? As long as they don’t interfere.
1
This is just pathetic.
1
Republicanism at its finest!
And how many suckers and losers (sorry, I meant to say citizens) voted for them?
3
In 42 days Trump and his enablers/minions will be mostly gone. Those who have appointments that carry over will be neutralized. Yes, Trump's people (and Trump, of course) will do their level best to make things as difficult as possible for the incoming administration, but soon they will be nothing but unpleasant noises.
4
Trump claimed he wanted to "Make America Great Again". Surely, attempting to sabotage the transition from one presidential administration to the next cannot be seen as anything but unpatriotic anti-American behavior. Trump and those engaging in this attempted coup are traitors and need to be held accountable.
8
It is all about fealty to Trump, and that is all the corrupt GOP has to offer. They are called on for their loyalty to report back
what they hear.
Perhaps the various Biden teams should start requesting a CV on every person Meadows assigns to a transition team to confirm they are actually associated with the subject matter and aren't there just to wear a wire.
Have the Secret Service come in and sweep the room for bugs.
And no, I'm not being sarcastic.
2
Intimidation whether implicit or explicit is part of Trump's game book.
I hope the patriots among these civil servants speak up loud and clear and tell our country how they've been terrorized once Trump has been removed from the White House.
They sill have to do their jobs, but there's no need to give the Trump toadies extra information that may imperil the Biden/Harris administration later.
Deplorable ‘til the end. They are likely writing the names of people who utter the words ‘pandemic’ or ‘science’ or ‘climate change’ down, so if the fantasy of 2024 comes true they’ll know who to fire.
2
Can a person be charged with obstruction of everything?
trump lost
Period
It’s over
Period
I’ll never vote for him but if he wants to run in 2024 he has every right to do so.
In the meantime, the underhanded and destructive way trump and his supporters are treating the country is sickening.
Get out of the way as your predecessor did for you. And stop inciting violence.
These are criminal acts. Why isn’t law enforcement doing something about it?
And now - an investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes. Isn’t the timing just a little but strange? When will trump set the White House on fire?
The trump presidential library will contain a few things - fast food menus mostly. The rest of the 40 documents are being shredded.
1
Is there anything awful that Donald Trump fails to come up with? No matter what the situation, he seems to find the most despicable approach. He doesn't miss an opportunity to degrade the country and those around him.
1
Biden's people need to start right now going on the offensive when necessary to these adolescent Trump-ettes. They will not stop; they'll hinder you however they can, legal or illegal. Biden must seek whatever legal means exist to destroy the plan hatched by The Pretender Trump and Co. Throw the book at the whole lot of them.
Kamala: put on your prosecutorial hat!
Since the guy in the White House likes to break norms, I hereby recommend the his last name be removed from the language, in fact from all languages. Dictionaries, take note.
This is low-level trolling compared to Mitch McConnell's senate where the stakes are high and the ethics are lower than low.
Republicans need to be very careful at this point.
Last night Rachel Maddow showcased the AG of Texas who has come to the aid of Trump by suing 4 other states to overturn their successful voting for Biden.
Today, 17 other states have joined that AG of Texas, a man who is under indictment for crimes that total 99 years if he is convicted.
Maddow pointed out that the Texan AG, by currying favor with Trump on this lawsuit, is angling for one of those pardons that Trump is passing out to anyone who shows any love for him.
If Republicans do not stop this currying favor with "this very nice man" as Trump would call himself, then there will be a backlash that will befall them.
The only persons that love a bully and a thug are other bullies and thugs. Pounding on a family's door and terrorizing a child inside is worthy only of the Third Reich or Joseph Stalin.
Enough is enough.
Wise up.
3
By now this is a crime. I wish the democrats would stop acting like victims, like the spineless wimps they are, and start bringing indictments.
1
Unacceptable. The US government works for the American people and we have the right to a smooth transition. Anyone who is impeding that is not doing their actual job. I hope the career staff are finding back channels.
All these Trump political appointees will be gone in January, We've relied too much on "norms" and "standards" to keep these vital processes running. Time to put those in writing -- in legislation -- to mandate processes and parameters for a Presidential transition, starting with the GSA's role.
2
At a certain point, 'ANYONE" invading or interfering with the new government decisions must be punished and called terrorists. Enough of treating them with respect! It is a matter of national security or not?
13
Welcome to Whitewater Redux. We can look forward to four years of all China and Hunter Biden all the time. Next we’ll be back to tan suits and emails. This is what we have devolved into - endless “investigations” and no governing.
5
Does anyone know whether the republicans who are blocking or disrupting the transition can be prosecuted for any crimes? Wouldn’t prosecution put a stop to some of this activity?
Trump is clearly avoiding ceding the office to avoid prosecution by NYC & NY State. Would his minions be willing to continue to follow him if they were going to prison instead?
7
The GOP continues to prove they are not working for the good of all Americans, and only for themselves. The fact they would deliberately exclude information and people from transition meetings proves for the umpteenth time, how incredibly selfish and self-serving they are. And they call themselves "Christian"!
7
Merrick Garland should be a Supreme Court Justice. Republican obstruction became the 'norm' when Mitch McConnell told us he would do everything to obstruct the Obama administration. It is so sad a ruling minority has such openly announced hate and lack of compassion for those suffering in this pandemic.
2
It really feels like the US has been inflitrated by enemies. Enemies of democracy, truth, the envirnoment, ethics. They are like duendes, getting pleasure from harming others. I think we have reached the place where the singularity meets the animal nature of humans.
4
Presidential transition experts said the presence of political officials at agency handoff meetings was not unheard-of and could even be seen as helpful. - The New York Times in this article.
3
You can be sure Trump plans to disrupt the inauguration by encouraging his fanatical base to show up in military gear with guns and flags. Take it indoors and keep it small. Don’t give the Republican Congress a chance to boycott it.
2
Isn't it kind of silly to not have the other side present in a transition process? Kind of like debating an empty chair.
1
I would suggest to these Trump loyalists that will soon be out of a job that the people that you mess with now will remember your actions when you are looking for a job in January. Trump has a history of dumping his loyalist whenever it suits him so I would be careful in the next couple of weeks while you still have a job.
2
America has become such a disappointment to me. I was raised to believe this country was strong and great and like no other. I see now that it is none of those things. A crooked, reality TV star took it down in one punch. The Republicans have not only riled up and angered their conspiracy believing base in an effort to sow division for this power grab, they have also crushed the spirit of many hard working, dedicated Americans in the process. I hope it's worth it to them.
3
trump needs to just go on out to a golf course and leave the transition to President-Elect Biden's teams. If trump's puppy dogs want to deny access or sit in on the meetings fine. They probably won't understand what is going on since few or none of them are political creatures. They won't have a job in a few weeks anyway. This is trump "spying" on President-Elect Biden's transition works.
2
Good, I want their crazy ideas shared on Breitbart. Democracy dies in darkness, remember? The American public needs to see that our senior civil servants are of a different social caste than they are, with entirely different values and lifestyles.
1
Count it down. He has little time left. Any damage now pales in comparison to millions infected hundreds of thousands dead. I am interested in what happens if he does not vacate and Biden calls police to investigate an intruder in the White House. That moment will be pure bliss of retribution. Trump has lost contact with reality. He should sign himself into an institution for treatment.
In the coming months and years when academics and historians begin to evaluate Trump's standing in the overall US presidential portrait, it will be things like this that will color some of the discussion and cement Trump's rightful spot at the very bottom of the list. Absolutely, positively dead last among all 45 presidents. And even that ranking will be too high for him. This guy and his band of crybabies should be dead last in every last presidential ranking to be had for the rest of time. And there isn't even a counterargument.
2
‘Planted’? This is SOP for a transition. The political appointee leaders from the outgoing Administration meet with the political appointees from the incoming administration, along with the career staff, and they discuss transition stuff. Here is what we did, here is what’s going on, here is what we think you should watch for, Yada Yada Yada. Why are people making it sound so sinister?
3
No surprise that Trump believes he can deposit his own corrupt deep state representatives in those Federal agencies. That underscores why President-Elect Biden's appointees and their direct reports must be of a superior quality. They must be ready from the first day, to demonstrate with prejudice, that leftover Trump plants who can be proven to be invested in dismantling or sabotaging lawful governance by the people and of the people, will not be tolerated in government service. Such operatives should run for office on the Republican's Tea Party or Freedom Caucus manifesto, just like Mike Pompeo and Tom Cotton did, to represent a backaward, impoverished, State that is dominated by Republican enemies of climate science, voting rights, civil rights and the rule of law. Let them have those States, while others succeed. I hope that Anthony Blinken has already alerted Pompeo to just leave, and take his soiled portfolio of murderous criminal Dictators with him.
The Trump admin finally makes moves to support the transition and it’s labeled “planting loyalists”? Haha. Biden voter here, but this is getting out of hand now. There is sooo much more to talk about. Such as, upcoming policy obstacles, actual policy analysis and you know, Biden related news? Why so hush hush about him other than the articles related to the identity politics he has already been dabbling in?
1
Career staff, or deep state. You can’t deny that if you live within 50 miles of the US Capitol you most likely are a Democrat. Therefore you can easily deduce that most Federal employees are liberal. So, they probably don’t want Trump officials attending handoff meetings.
1
Can the new attorney general prosecute these corrupters for treason, as they are undermining and sabotaging the process?
The Biden team should keep very detailed notes as to the Trump people and organizations involved in this “oversight”. Something stinks here and it would not surprise me if Donald Trump and his allies start leaking or discussing this information after he leaves office. The Biden Administration should be ready to move instantly against this, especially against Mr. Trump, as it will be another example of Donald Trump still trying to destroy our democracy and weaken our national security. It appears that Mr. Trump will spend the rest of his life trying to get even with our country for his loss. What a despicable, maniacal and deranged individual he is.
He will be gone soon enough and then we will get back to some sense of normalcy. He'll leave with his head down and the whole Republican party in shambles!
I never thought I'd see an attempt at a political coup in the USA. Mark my words, you need to arrest and charge Trump with sedition the minute he leaves office. No other response will do. If not, woe betide your country in 4 years time.
The real conservatives in the GOP who have survived the past four years should be incandescent at this silly game playing because it puts party before country. How long will it be before senior members understand that feeding the insatiable ego of the lame duck loser does not profit them at all?
As with Communist and Fascist regimes, a member of the Party attends all bureaucratic meetings to make sure that nobody strays from the interests of the Party. The Trump Party follows the pattern naturally.
2
Just remove them the same way Trump put them in there.
Nothing like trying to intimidate Biden/Harris people. Shouldn’t this be considered a form of terrorism? Because that’s what it is.
Vlad must be so proud of his creation...
1
if remembered at all donald the terrible will be remembeted for " L'swamp c'est moi"
1
As much as I dislike Trump and am looking forward to his departure, I'm not sure what's wrong with the presence of "loyalists" at transition meetings.
1
This is the same thing that Billy Clinton did. So what is Biden’s complaint now?
2
It kind of reminds me of how Obama placed loyalists in the transition process who all then proceeded to leak every Trump conversation to the press. It seems there was a clear president established on how to handle a transition.
4
@Kev That never happened. Why do Trumpists lie so much, and so badly?
23
The word is precedent
12
@Kev can you please supply examples? I'm honestly unaware of this taking place.
Also, it's "precedent" not "president".
17
I suspect this is what Joe Biden can expect for the next four years. Every effort will be made by the GOP to stall, obfuscate, undermine, and sabotage everything he tries to accomplish. Why should this sort-of-transition be any different?
No amount of name-calling will change them. The only thing we have left is the runoff election in Georgia. We have to win both seats. That's it.
17
So when do we, as Americans, call the Trump regime's tactics what they are: sedition? Sedition is defined as overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or rebellion against, established authority. Sedition is a felony in the United States Code. When are the Giulianis, Pompeos et al charged with the crimes they are perpetrating against the nation, the constitution and the citizen?
33
We can call it sedition when every liberal that burned the flag, rioted, looted, threatened the sitting president of the United States, Impeded on policy execution and stonewalled instead of moving the needle forward on democracy as well as other acts of treason are dealt with accordingly. Deal?
Oh please cry me a river. You need to look no further than Mitch McConnell’s non-stop obstructionism as the reason democracy hasn’t moved forward.
I think Trump is still trying to figure out how a government actually runs?
17
@rford
Interesting idea, r.
No one seems to fully understand Trump’s desperate need to be reelected. Deny the pandemic. Undermine the electoral process. Threaten state electoral and elected officials...
Over the past four years, now and then, DJT may have noticed some aspects of the workings of government. Maybe, just maybe, he believes that given several more terms as president he could actually gain some form of confused competence.
Stranger plans have been imagined!
5
you dont need to know how a car engine works to wreck it. in fact, its how best to wreck it, being belligerently ignorant.
1
@TomW
He doesn’t want to be re-elected. He wants to raise money for himself first and foremost and he wants to control people.
1
I have not seen anything from this potus that is reassuring. We should, the Democratic party and the media should launch a counter message to his. The GOP has given up. Biden or anyone should not think that he will go quietly and prepare for that eventuality. This is not over yet. Lives could be lost. In fact lives are being lost. I mean, does he care that people are dying in the pandemic?
6
No, he doesn't care. That is crystal clear at this point.
If everyone reacted to every hint of thuggery by doing their job in a state of terror-induced paralysis, all of our cars would be in the shop and there would be a daily NYT section reserved for bridge and tunnel collapses. Drunk boaters would be rescuing the Coast Guard instead of the Coast Guard rescuing drunk boaters.
As should be evident from recent events, gangsters bluff constantly and prey on psychological weakness, but are generally at a loss when they are ignored or confronted. Giving in to hollow or inept threats means that one no longer personally lives in a lawful free society. Doing so in one's official capacity as a high level government employee would mean no one else lives in such a society, either. Those who cannot stand up to such pressure are not suited for the job.
Claiming to be a victim of micro-aggressions is not the highest form of service or a shield from responsibility. Whistleblower laws exist for a reason, and caring about society means ignoring nonsense and doing what matters.
4
Once again it's all about Trump. Is this really what Americans want, even those who supported Trump in the last election?
8
Yes.
The Biden EPA Transition Team must be either naive or inexperienced to tolerate this.
It not only undermines their policy development process, it puts career EPA people at risk.
What were they thinking to have agreed to this?
Who are they? (i.e. the Biden EPA traction team folks who signed off on this) Readers want to know.
3
I read the comments here and in response to other articles and I worry as much as everyone else about what is happening to our country right now.
But then I start to think about what really happened in the last election, not the fantastical lie Trump and his supporters are telling and my spirits lift. We had so many new voters who showed up and made the difference in getting Trump out. Once someone votes and has that pride in fulfilling their civic responsibility, that person will most likely vote again and again and again. That’s what should really frighten these deplorable republicans - not the vindictive temper of a defeated and legally vulnerable loser.
We need to move past Trump, leave him behind but learn from what he exposed about the weaknesses that exist. We must never again assume that an elected person will behave with honor but instead pass laws to safeguard our democracy. We must ensure that voting rights are protected since that will be the Republicans biggest target.
If we can get through this dark period and make these changes, I think that we’ll be alright.
13
Please everyone, understand that Donald J. Trump, his Republican partners, and whomever they designate to sit in on any of the Biden transition meetings, are there simply because Trump, McConnell, and their partners, are essentially acting as spies to gather details of the Biden plans, sabotage whatever they can, amd pass Biden administration plans along to domestic and foreign "very" interested parties, such parties being foreign corporations and foreign friendly and "unfriendly" governments.
After four years of the Trump regime, is any true blue decent honorable American able to trust these traitors, and I say traitors meaning it fully.
Unless there is some real legal prohibition against it, block all Trump loyalists from getting anywhere near any transition meeting.
12
Except for the awkwardness of the situation, I don’t really see how this will hurt too much. Right now, Trump is completely obsessed with his failed election AND the illegal pardons he intends to doll out.
Any briefs, whether they be written or oral will pass by the wayside, thus has it been during his entire presidency. Trump the demagogue has probably never read a report that came across his desk nor taken a valid bit of information from an aide unless he figured it would advance his cause.
If they are worried about a stonewall from agencies while they transition, well, why care now? At least they have more data now than when they began. They were always gonna be stymied. Trump still mentions his victory and he lost in SCOTUS last night!
5
The problem with the Trump presidency was he was miscast in a starring role. He should find a country looking for a dictator and move there.
13
Whatdya expect from this outfit? Something benefitting the general good? Remember the vicious 2016 campaign. The meeting with the Russians, of all people, to get dirt on Clinton. And Trump calling on them to interfere in our election...just thinking of that can turn your stomach. And the whole divide and conquer tactics, the reality show drama, the fostering of hate and labeling as enemies those on the other side. What is most distressing though is the silence of the Republicans who previously pointed to their conservative principles. They showed their hollowness. And equally ugly is approval of the Trump supporters of the ugly tactics. That's a lot of the Body Politic. That's what we have...nothing to inspire any good feeling about the political ballgame. Or about our sense of Civics.
3
History will show that the Trump administration was more than corrupt and dishonest -they are dismantling our federal institutions - it’s almost as if they are working for a foreign power.
None of this is normal
What is different is the long list of complicit elected republicans helping him.
12
Salt the earth. Trump's strategy in a nutshell.
5
trump's political appointees are not subject matter experts. They are agents of suppression and presenters of false narratives.
5
I think they might be trying to finally learn something. oops , too late . you'll be out a job soon. good luck with THAT!
Republicans act as if politics matter. Were they not Democrats, Democrats might respond accordingly.
4
Remember the slogan 'think globally, act locally?' Some of us feel this is our only option left, after voting, in countering the corrupt, antidemocratic behavior of our neighbor Republicans who continue to support Trump and this type of behavior. I will thus be avoiding social interactions with these folks in future.
7
The Biden transition team should start meetings by stating that "if you are not comfortable addressing a particular issue now, or if you u think of something important later, the handout we provided has telephone numbers for you to contact later".
3
Where others see a solid wall, Trump sees a spider web of cracks, into which he can insert wedges. He seems to have a kind of perverse genius for this.
He's likely to get away with the chilling of the transition, even though it violates the law.
2
They ALL NEED TO BE HELD Accountable.
6
I remember when interference with a presidential transition took the form of Clinton staffers removing the W key from their computers before departing the White House.
3
This story is a nothing burger. This has happened before and it will happen again and again. Current political appointees, too sluggish or unqualified to already be somewhere else are enjoying their last moments of power. They’ll be drinking on Inauguration Day, but for different reasons. “Small government” GOP hypocrites luxuriated in The Swamp and fed at the trough of Government, and liked it!
3
@hACKworth
Easy there, Hacky.
Trump has not happened before.
So Trump loyalists are sitting in on meetings.
So what?
Do you always pay attention to the gnats in the room? Except to swat them when they become troublesome?
3
This is just what it is to be a bully. The whole zeitgeist of the Republican party, at this point, is to force themselves on an unwilling public. There's something about that that is intoxicating to them. What else does that sound like?
3
What has become clear is that Trump was not installed as president to “deconstruct the administrative state” has his former handler, now indicted crook, Steve Bannon once said. Trump was installed to deconstruct the democratic state and install minority rule. The Republican party is in on it or at least indifferent.
1
These are not normal times. Trump political appointees are there to destroy the department and careers of anyone loyal to the US and not Trump.
The career people who made it this far have only 40 days to go. Why risk being fired? I understand but this compromises the usefulness of the transition.
One of the MANY lessons we've learned with a traitor con man as president is political appointments are most dangerous potentially.
We don't need to dance on a needle here to understand exactly what's going on. These thugs will fire or try to destroy these individuals. I have no doubt they are destroying any of their seditious material, as well as the good science.
We will spend the next 4 years REBUILDING just to get back to 2016 levels of "excellence".
I hope every one of them ends up in jail or unemployed. They are criminals just like the thugs in the Executive Branch.
2
This is like his pledge to drain the swamp where instead he oversaw the most corrupt administration ever. Now he is developing the deep state that didn’t exist till now. How long is America going to tolerate this. GOP now stands for ‘Grifters Only Party’.
1
Everything Trump and the administration has done with respect to the transition is vindictive and petty and shows utter disdain for the career public servants trying to do their jobs, and most importantly, the country. January 20th cannot come fast enough.
Oh, an irritating little detail:
These people are all receiving decent salaries at the expense of U.S. taxpayers, many of whom right now are wondering where their next meal is coming from.
Do any of them understand, or care?
2
I hope the Biden administration doesn't make the same mistake Clinton made with Linda Tripp. A new broom sweeps clean and the incoming team needs to extirpate every remnant of team Drumpf, root and branch.
3
Maybe my memory fails me, but I thought that Donald Trump was often complaining about Obama spying on him. I must be wrong.
1
You couldn't do a better job than the Trump maladministration of undermining American democracy and acting against the best interests of the American people if you tried.
The lame duck period for the transition of power in the US is too long, particularly when it gives a malignant President such as Trump the opportunity to undermine and stymie his successor.
2
Deception, lies, cover-ups, misinformation, mismanagement. The Trump Covid-19 plan to MAGA.
2
This is no big deal. The first recorded use of germ warfare was in the late Middle Ages Black Death. Siege’ers would catapult bubonic plague victim corpses over the castle wall.
The easiest thing in the world is to construct is an inconsequential, do nothing federal job. The cost of these leeching employees at the federal trough is something I’m willing to bear as the cost of DeTrumping. It’s a word now and I’m claiming it. :)
If Trump walks like a duck and talks like a duck then I guess it only goes to say that his little duckies will naturally follow him wherever he goes. Until they all waddle out the door on January 20th, 2021, at noon.
Just when I thought Republicans could sink no lower.
2
Relax. These “political” commissars will be toothless soon. Then many will be charged, prosecuted, and one con law expert says, convicted, fined, bankrupted, jailed. Nothing on climate change will change in the interim unless a asteroid is headed to Earth in which case it don’t matter!!
Is any one surprised that the projector-in-chief who basely accuses (still!) the Obama administration of spying on his campaign and transition team is, in fact, the one who has planted agents?
2
Get tough, and kick them out. They do not belong there.
3
Mr. T wife grew up under the authoritarian Soviet Block where de Facto Capos get Reelected almost by a force of custom, and fear.An entrenched, corrupt and ruthless Military Apparatus, silences any possible opposition ipso Facto.
We can hear her whispering in his ear.... Donnie just go for it grab another 4 years... change the Constitution, rewrite the laws.. power Ad infinitum..
This is how Dictators in third world countries operate, not in free Democracies. Every red blooded American should be ashamed and embarrassed of this administration. Our founders would be.
2
For the last four years we've been watching a sideshow of bombastic buffoonery and posturing aimed at stirring up resentment and gaining the attention of special interest groups that are no more representative of the average American than is showcased by our Leader and Ringmaster.
Any official, elected or otherwise who continues the current 'stolen election' lunacy should be called out for their egoism, and the foreswearing of their oaths of office.
They are disgusting, deplorable.
1
"Supporters of the president are monitoring many of the conversations between Biden teams and civil servants, chilling the flow of information."
What year is it again? This is like something you'd expect from the Stasi or in the old Soviet Union.
1
Throw the GOP bums out.
4
While playing golf trump is now claiming responsibility for the anti-virus vaccine. But Pfizer says it developed its own vaccine absent trump. Go figure. Clearly trump could have actively supported and even led the vaccine development effort almost a year ago! But he didn't. Instead he left the nation totally vulnerable and in a place of "catch up" instead of "prevention" to the pandemic crisis. He dismantled all the important measures the previous administration had taken to successfully protect the nation from the 2014 Ebola infection crisis and brace for other infection situations in the future. And then he actually blocked the capacity for national action to contain the current mess and is still missing in action.
34
As a former Republican, neither myself nor any member of extended family and friends will ever vote for a Republican again. Conservatives who believe in integrity, democracy, science, upholding separation of powers and the Constitution, need to form a new political party. The Lincoln Project is a start, but reactionary movements while necessary, aren’t offering a vision other than countering perceived evils.
53
Well stated.
3
Monitoring conversations seems to be about the limit for the political appointees sitting in on these meetings. No one could expect them to make any meaningful contributions.
14
@Tom Q There is no doubt, however, that these Trumpers will report back to entities that will use this information to disrupt or ruin the Biden team's plans.
11
So sad - if this were any other administration, you'd immediately think they were there to help smooth the transition, but in this case I immediately assume this has sinister motives. My opinion of them could not be lower at this point.
24
These "disrupters" are just that. They have nothing to add.
Taking up space!
12
I won't be able to celebrate Trump's election loss until he is out of the White House and Biden has been given the oath of office and sworn in as POTUS 46. Even after losing every challenge and failing to get state lawmakers to ignore the results and appoint electors loyal to Drumpf, Texas is mounting another challenge in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the current administration continues to inflict lasting damage to our government and the country. Six more weeks of holding my breath. I hope Letitia James has indictments and warrants ready to go on the afternoon of January 20th, before Drumpf and his foul brood hightail it to Russia or Brazil. Kim Jong Un, the man he fell in love with, may offer him asylum.
20
Obama administration got a pass from you, with a little snippet about "ensuring process". Double standard much?
Also, will you write an alarmist article when Biden fires all Trump prosecutors?
1
Any/all presidential appointees are required to submit their resignations when a new administration takes power.
It is up to the new president to accept them or not.
You can be sure that few Trump appointees will retain their positions, especially the ones who were not qualified to begin with.
5
You can’t compare Trump to any other President. He’s the anti-potus.
1
All of trumps executive orders and anyone appointed to any government agency during trump’s failed and corrupt presidency should be immediately undone on day one of Biden’s term as president. Unfortunately, Biden can’t undo the damage done to the federal court system. There is only one option...
Stack the court!
Ah yes, such patriotic republicans, loyal
only to themselves.
18
C'mon already. Have you ever been to a meeting - any meeting - in your life where there wasn't at least one condescending, boorish, disruptive, belligerent, and self-centered nincompoop in attendance worth giving a second thought about?
10
@Jim Drehfal
Yes, but don't you get it ?
The entire Republican party, except for one or two, are all "condescending, boorish, disruptive, belligerent, and self-centered nincompoops", and worse, they are also mean, miserable, lying soulless evil creatures, worthy of being tarred, feathered, tied to well splintered rails, and run out of Washington D.C, with the exodus covered by every television station in the nation, with stops at every mile marker so the people might be able to pile on more tar and feathers ...
Only then will I be genuinely satisfied.
4
@Jim Drehfal
Yes all of my meetings are like that!
The difference is those people are ostensibly on our same team and will not wilfully undermine us or report back to our competitors what goes on in our meetings.
In this case, these people are out to subvert everything they can. Lets hope the Biden people are keeping their cards very close to their chest. Once the traitors are out, they can really get stuck in.....
That's rich, Pompeo complaining about the fantasy world of the previous administration, while he and Donald are playing their moronic games. Get over it, and move on. You lost. Now let the grownups fix what you have broken.
18
What nonsense !
Biden would be our 46th President in a little more than a month.
His team should stop this infiltration from the outgoing corrupt administration.
8
BTW the republicons have in general been placing loyalists in our government to report on it back to secret leadership and to sabotage it since reagan.
8
Biden should have a simple inauguration - at the Supreme Court while Trump is escorted vv from the White House. I have no doubt he will encourage his rabble to disrupt the inauguration with guns and flags.
11
I have a friend who is in DC who assures me that in fact the right wing extremists and nazis are organizing for something big. It is likely they plan to disrupt the inauguration. Trump is not done, make no mistake about it. The worst is yet to come, sad to say.
16
The good news is trump and his ilk will soon be gone. President Joe Biden will clean house and fumigate the White House, which has turned into a Covid virus super spreader hot spot.
12
Besides fumigating the place, they had better check to see if all the artwork and priceless objects haven’t mysteriously disappeared.
2
This article makes it seem as if Biden people are dumb as dirt. Guess what? They aren't fooling anyone. Biden's people know exactly who is in and who is out and the Trump nut cases are OUT!!
7
This is normal in a transition as the article points out in the third paragraph. But I guess you need to write about something.
If career federal employees have concerns of being fired by Trump for performing their duty during the transition, it should be clearly stated by Biden he has the power to reverse such Trump administration decisions and simply re-hire them to the same position. And assuming that Trump is only doing these things out of spite, then Biden can go one step further to rub salt into his wound. Biden can simply state that any career federal employee fired by Trump for their legal disclosures of necessary and/or critical transition information with his teams, will be rehired on January 20 to the same positions with guaranteed back pay, AND a bonus monetary payment for their troubles. The latter alone should be food for thought to Trump. He surely would loath the idea of their getting something that he's not entitled to.
8
@invoke25 Would you put your career (and family) on the line like this?
Let’s not forget that Trump is only a symptom of the problem, the problem being that the Republican Party does not believe in democracy.
20
The ominous shadow that will remain after the Trump nightmare has gone is the knowledge that the Republican party would have allowed democracy to be stolen from us if they had been able to swing it. We now know that one of the two parties is willing to bring down free elections and swing the country into criminal (likely Russian, and definitely incompetent) hands.
The Republican congress is actively working against the people.
26
Biden should hold his conferences in a secured and controlled location in Delaware with no Trump agents sniping, wiretapping, spying, recording, photographing, etc. Biden may need to start an investigation into Trump's FBI/CIA/NSA spying on his transition discussions. It has been clear for years that Trump's echelon does not owe any allegiance to the US Constitution or the American people. Every Trump agent deserves to be held as suspicious and untrustworthy.
13
I'm sure the Biden team is savvy enough to know what to talk about and what questions to ask without giving away anything pertinent to their agenda.
These Trump people will be out of a job on January 21, 2121, anyway
Then perhaps the investigations of what Trump and his sycophants are trying to hide can and will begin in force.
7
It's quite clear that trump and his hostile Republican regime are trying to hurt the American people by creating as much destruction and chaos as possible for Biden's new presidency. I hope that Biden drops his notion of everyone working together, b/c Republicans are actively working against him and by extension, us.
Biden is going to have to learn to get his team to out-strategize the devil, because that's what we are working with here, people. It's going to be a frustrating, dangerous 4 years if Dems don't fight back and win.
8
@Sydney
Don't allow the "let's work together" nonsense cloud the reality. It provides cover to the neo-liberal Dems to continue the center right, corporatist agenda.
1
President Elect Biden should announce a practical moratorium on firing or demoting any federal employee between now and the Inauguration. Obviously, Trump is still President until then, but Biden can promise that any employee fired or demoted will be rehired and placed back in their current position. This will get rid of Trump's ability to threaten current employees.
2
These people need to be identified by name so everyone knows who they are. Why is it that this is seen as crossing some line in D.C.? We constantly hear of stories of people, including Senators and Congress members, who secretly hate Trump and all he stands for, but their names are never spoken. If we haven't reached the point where names need to be named, when would we ever?
3
Rather than trying to help his country, he's doing his best to destroy it. What he's doing is more than an attempted coup; he's trying to taint any success of a non-Trump administration. You'd think that with all his failures, he'd be content with the damage he's already done, but I guess not.
3
Spies are as old in history as the advent of civilization. Los Alamos-venued Russian spies knew about the details of the A bomb long before Truman. What else is new? Of course the transition has spies and we all know this was likely four years ago as well.
2
Spies working for American interests are in no way the same thing as sycophants in the White House trying to destroy our country from the inside out. In no universe is that remotely the same thing.
2
@Deda Williams No. Actually Benedict Arnold as well as the Los Alamos Russian spies worked for the American government. You can call them sycophants or even jerks but they still behave the same way. There is nothing new under the sun with government employees. This activity dates back to the advent of civilization in the Middle East with the ability to create written documents/keep records (and copy them for nefarious purposes).
1
I hope Biden and his team have long memories on this including compiling a master list of these folks. May come in handy ....
3
There should be a special meeting of Congress called immediately, both house and senate to declare this man dangerous to democracy. I'm not so sure he'll leave and I'm not so sure the senate will disallow it to happen. This is beyond kids play. The man is possessed and is ready to boil over at the top' Turn off the heat and send him off to cold storage in Siberia. Maybe Putin would be open to sectioning off Siberia as it's own country and appointment Trump governor. That's above Trump's capability also but Putin would be more tolerant. Oh ya, and take away Trump's citizenship from the U.S.A.
4
They tried this yesterday and republicans refused to even call Biden the president elect
Republicans are more than willing to destroy democracy if they can retain power
1
Just another reason why Inauguration day can not come soon enough.
3
What I do not like about this is that Trump’s GOP makes fiscal conservatives (like myself), look like uneducated degenerates. When I tell people I am conservative, I get so many negative comments. I just want lower taxes, not a theocracy...
5
One really has to wonder what is the purpose and endgame of all this? It seems to be simply hatred, vitriol and an urge for destruction with no logical rationale. Am reminded of the middle ages, in which any hint of science or rationality was met with torture and imprisonment. This new Trump-empowered Republican party -- or whoever they are -- do seem to be anarchists who want a non-science, hate- and control-based society that punishes dissent and craves violence, murder and bloodlust.
2
NOT 'LOYALISTS'. SPIES AND OBSTRUCTIONISTS.
Continuing to destroy our country - Trump and the GOP.
5
Loyal to what, exactly? There was no voter fraud, only voter suppression by the GOP. To be loyal to an unethical, unprincipled, unfit criminal is absurd. The silence from the GOP sounds like the death knell of a radical, broken party.
Will Lincoln Project members start a new party? We need two functioning parties led by grownups. The Democrats have the ideas and agenda, while the GOP has obstructionism and lies.
1
“You’re fired!” will be spoken many, many times January 20.
Simple solution to this mess, fire everyone Trump appointed, all of them. Start clean. Trump has soiled the civil servant ranks with toadies that oftentimes were not even qualified for the positions. There are millions out of work, hire some of them and put the Trumpies out of work, show them where one ends up after supporting Trump, under the bus.
1
Trump's sabotage of the transition is a good reason why Biden has picked an experienced staff. Most have served in closely related positions. They need confidential information about what's happened (or, often, not happened) since Biden left office four years ago, but they already know the nuts and bolts and where the bathrooms are.
2
I never expected to see so many adults act like spoiled children within our government.
1
Are they entrapping them with FBI agents so they can throw them in prison over a minor irregularity? If not, they should consider themselves fortunate.
The Trump administration is itself a disease on our political system. I guess it’s a silver lining that the obstruction they commit on the way out pales in comparison to all the damage they did while they were in charge. Thank God these people will be gone in two months.
1
Had I only walked. away. from the computer after reading Jennifer Finney Boylan's column this morning, while my blood pressure was still blissfully low.
4
For four years, Donald Trump has corrupted almost all elements of the Executive Branch. From Cabinet Secretaries to low level staff, the various government departments have been stuffed full with grifters and incompetents, whose only job qualification has been sycophancy to Trump. It will take years to purge the government of this ship of fools, that Trump brought with him to Washington.
2
Vindictive cruelty.
It is the one and only constant. It should be part of the Trump family crest. In English.
3
The real question is even what, it's how much are THEY are hiding???
1
Every time I catch myself thinking the Trump nightmare is almost over because he lost the election, a story like this reminds me that his evil attracted much evil, that it's like a many headed Hydra.
2
So "Mr. Biden is loath to disrupt that process by remarking on tensions."
Fine. As long as he's also taking names and getting somebody like Rahm to lay down the law to them in the backroom.
The people are or are working for traitors. We must make no mistake about that. They believe Democrats are wusses. For the sake of our nation we must stop acting like it.
I hope ensuing comments to this thread will similarly focus on what we can and should do, foreswearing the bootless griping I read so far.
4
This is Trump's scorched earth policy..Leave everything a mess for the winner..The behavior of a spoiled brat.
It may be best to divide the country..Let there be red hat ville
maskless and filled with god knows what.
and smart world with a wall between... Trump can have a wall.
The country is irreparably divided anyway. A nightmare from which I am afraid there is no awaking.
4
I’d point out to the chest-thumping couch-sitting boys (hard to thump the old chest when you’re planted on the couch, as it tends to knock over the stand with the pot pie on it, but they seem to manage) that if you’d like to know what real fighting looks like, follow the progress of the patient women and men who have to grit their teeth and represent Joe Biden in all these meetings.
Their patience and their forbearance, their focus on learning as much as they can, their insistence on making the transition work as smoothly as possible in the face of screaming idiocy, are in a modest way positively heroic. Sorry that ain’t good enough for the self-styled progressive heroes.
And by the way, Trumpist bellowers? You wanna forge a bond and common purpose among Biden, his staffers, and a whole passel of civil servants who know hiw to do stuff and where the bodies are buried, keep doing what you’re doing.
I’m sorry these meets can’t be televised; I’d love to see the general stares of polite contempt.
1
Be careful.
As was the case with Kellyanne Conway, today's loyalist could be tomorrow's turncoat.
One of the reasons I have a dog is he's loyal to a fault. I suspect if I stoped feeding him and giving him gentle scratches behind the ears even he would turn on me.
Describing these opportunists as loyalist is comical. They are holding on to their power and dignity by a finger nail. They attached their star to a loser and the only way out is to eat each other. These loyalist will be stabbing each other in the back in a matter of days.
3
Looks like we are gonna get Trump's means-spirited, pettiness to the end. Good riddance.
3
Is there a companion article from 2016 about Obama administration planting loyalists in Trump Transition Meetings?
You mean like this one, which discusses the fact that Obama’s people behaved very differently? Or you mean the one based on hallucinations?
Try Bretbart.
Jeez. Sadly Trump seems to attract a multitude of toadies. These people need to go join the secret police in some netherworld country.
2
Isn’t this spying on the Biden campaign?
Why isn’t Butterball Bill Barr investigating this?
4
The campaign is over.
Biden won.
I think that was covered by this paper.
Again, this slowing down and lack of cooperation from Trumpists, show how unpatriotic, and anti democratic they and their dear Leader truly are. When Trump hugs a flag on stage,he's not embracing what it represents, but is showing how he's trying to smother it, smother democracy. As its been said thousands of times...he tells us and performs exactly as who he really is; Anti democratic, a wannabe despot and Cult Leader. Which the elected Repubs seem to be willingly giving him, in their cowardice and fear of Trumplodites. Who are becoming ever more volatile and unstable. Excellent ingredients for a Cult...of Successionists.
1
I think it's clear not only from this article but from the outrageous attempts by Trump and his sycophants to overthrow the results of the 2020 election that the rules and laws surrounding presidential transitions must be reformed and toughened up. The fact that Biden's transition team was only recently "allowed into the Defense Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency" even though members of Biden's team were being led by highly qualified individuals like Ret. 3 Star Marine Corps General Vincent Stewart – who actually served as the director of DIA during Obama's administration – is more than alarming because it places our national security at grave risk. (Such delays were cited as problematic by the 9/11 Commission) Trump's toadies – many who were never qualified to fill positions they occupy in the first place – are playing a dangerous game in trying to gum up access to information. Some might be tempted to shrug off this sort of juvenile bullying, but we are talking about top agencies tasked with everything from national security to emergency relief action domestically (think pandemic and hurricanes). It also places our military service members at risk. So the antics of political appointees like Emily Murphy must be prohibited from ever happening again. If they interfere with the peaceful transition of power the consequences must have real teeth.
7
History will not be kind to Trump, the Trump administration, many Republicans, or this era in America. Hopefully-- if all proceeds as it should until January 20--history will show that judges around the country, including many Republican- appointed judges, helped to preserve American democracy and values.
6
Trump has an endgame. He is is paving the way to declare martial law, suspend the Constitution, and have the military administer a "do-over" election with a result more to Trump's liking. His buddy General Flynn is publicly advocating this move, likely masterminded by Stephen Miller.
For months Trump prepared us for his challenge to the election with endless attacks on mail-in ballots. Similarly, this morning's Tweets are preparing us for his endgame: "We will soon be learning about the word 'courage', and saving our Country. I received hundreds of thousands of legal votes more, in all of the Swing States, than did my opponent. ALL Data taken after the vote says that it was impossible for me to lose, unless FIXED!"
Trump is quietly placing his loyalists in positions of control, especially in the Defense Department. The Seven Days In May are upon us.
8
@Steven
In 1974, when it was looking like Nixon was finished, there was a rumor that he was going to have the military encircle the Capitol, and then he would declare martial law.
Then Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger was reputed to have issued an order that any order that did not have his approval was not to be carried out. Nixon tucked his tail between his legs and resigned.
I believe that the present professional military will not obey an order that is clearly intended to subvert the US Constitution, such as declaring martial law and throwing out the results of the November 3, 2020 election.
We are not under attack by a foreign nation, and no foreigners are controlling any US territory. There is no basis for a declaration of martial law.
Nobody is going to support Trump if he tries to declare martial law. Civilians control the military; the military does not control We The People.
4
@Steven
Even as all evidence (so far) suggests this plan will fail, we should not be complacent. Everything Trump has done indicates he intends a political and/or military coup.
But it is the silent, and not so silent, complicity of the Republican Party that is truly chilling.
7
@Joe From Boston Agree. The tradition of civilian control of the military runs deep. I fully expect the Joint Chiefs to refuse Trump's declaration and to adhere to the Constitution. Yet, Trump is ignorant of all of this and will nonetheless try to achieve a second term by any means necessary. Buckle up !
3
Ummm
Trump is still the President until at least January 20, 2021. He has not conceded the election, in his eyes he believes that he still has a chance to somehow change the vote counts in his favor just enough to flip the results to him. Slim chance but still not zero. So... as far as he and his supporters are concerned, Biden is not yet verifiably the President-elect, and any briefings afforded Biden is more than what trump is required to do. When all the objections and court pleadings have run their course, then we’ll know for certain the election outcome. Biden ‘won’ by fewer vote margins in the swing states than what put Trump just barely over Hillary in 2016.
Let it play out, insisting that challenges be swept aside before the challenges all have been adjudicated will only leave half the country’s voters believing that there was a cover up of fraud
1
@Jussie Dolezal
It doesn’t matter what Trump and his supporters believe. It matters how his court challenges have fared in court. Not well, since there is no evidence to back up their “beliefs.” (I don’t think Trump believes he won, just as I don’t believe Trump thought Obama was not a US citizen.)
For the record, Biden won by larger margins in Midwestern swing states than Trump did in 2016. Not that it matters. And he picked off Georgia and Arizona from the GOP.
12
@Jussie Dolezal Witness the SCOTUS refusal to hear the PA case. There is one case (filed by the indicted TX AG, Paxton, looking for a pardon?) that is asking the SCOTUS to overturn the election results of four "swing" states, claiming their Covid-based rule changes for mail-in ballots was somehow "unconstitutional". It's "state vs. state", and it will undoubtedly meet the same end as the PA attempt. But please, repub deniers, send ALL your money to the fraud's personal "fund"!
@Jussie Dolezal I don't mean this to come off as combative, but Trump won PA, MI, and WI (the swing states of 2016) by a combined total of 77,000 votes. Biden won PA by over 80,000 votes, MI by 155,000 votes, and WI by over 20,000 votes (in 2016 Trump won WI by 23,000 votes). Biden also blew Trump out of the popular vote by over 7 million ballots.
To claim that Trump is anything other than a selfish, self-centered sore loser delusional. Just because you have the money to hire a lawyer and file a petition doesn't mean his "challenges" have merit, which is why every case has been dismissed.
1
If Trump wants his people in the transition meeting, he needs to first concede the election.
10
I am a career federal employee, and I fail to see how the presence of Trump political appointees in transition meetings would have a chilling effect. The writing is on the wall, Biden will be president, and his political appointees are soon to be has-beens. If I were in the transition meetings, I would not be intimidated and would readily share information with the incoming team. If the outgoing Trump politicos didn't like it, too bad, too sad.
105
@mountainone , here is my question: Could being frank in these meetings put a well-informed and well-intentioned career civil servant in jeopardy of being fired before the transition occurs? We have lost a lot of critical expertise in several departments already (State, Education, etc) and I can see the possibility of job-loss being a threat to some folks in these meetings. Thanks in advance for your insights.
46
@Nicholas Hogan I agree that firing might be a concern for senior executive service employees or if Trump gets his way with the newly classified schedule F designation for policy related positions, but at least for now most career technical experts have protection. Good question though.
17
@Nicholas Hogan
Once President Biden is in office, he can rehire all of the fired people. It is not like there are zillions of jobs out there just now, so anyone that Trump might fire will likely be looking for a job after January 20.
The folks who will DEFINITELY be fired are all the Trump political appointees.
If some of them have been put into SES positions (which can be relocated and re assigned at any time), a lot of them are going to be working in Nome, Alaska, in offices with no windows, no internet, and no government phones, assuming they accept the transfer and do not just resign.
16
We need to turn norms into laws and then start prosecuting those who break these new laws. We cannot allow Trump to continue to destroy our Democracy.
13
Vladimir Putin is smiling. Most of all, he is thankful for Donald Trump, the gift that keeps giving (to him).
Putin’s plan to destroy America from within is succeeding beyond his wildest expectations. He actively promoted Trump for President in 2016, and he still refuses to recognize that Biden has been elected.
Trump would have won the Electoral College vote if it were not for COVID. And Trump’s continuing disinformation campaign on COVID has given America the worst pandemic in the world.
Trump will leave the White House, but he will continue to tweet about the “fraudulent election”, and he will remain the undisputed leader of the GOP. His cult followers will continue to believe everything that he says, and Senator McConnell will work to prevent President Biden from defeating COVID and recovering the economy. America will suffer, but Putin will be happy!
Trump will find a way to pardon himself on the way out, but he is still subject to state prosecution and federal investigation. Only if Trump’s crimes are clearly exposed, will it be possible to discredit him to his followers. Only if he is discredited will it be possible for the GOP to be recreated as a modern conservative party, rather than as a personality cult around Trump.
The future of American democracy is at stake! We need to restore American values, not those of Trump and Putin.
9
You hit the nail on the head!
1
"He called the Trump administration’s apparent determination to micromanage the transition process by overseeing meetings part of its broader plan to “milk their authority as long as they can and disrupt the new administration as much as they can.”"
Well, are they going to move out on January 20, or will they be showing up at Department meetings? Is Donald Trump goiing to be sitting under the Resolute Desk, tapping Biden's phones?
This is totally absurd, but would anyone ever think it would be anything but like this? Donald Trump has always acted like he owns the government, and this is no different. Maybe he still thinks there's some way his people can stay put and spy on Biden, or somehow prepare Trump for another run.
In any other country this would be called subversion.
11
This is shocking and concerning. I hope the Biden administration is also shocked and concerned.
They will have to remove every single Trump appointee to get anything done after Jan. 20. I expect these people to continue to try to sabotage the new administration.
9
I’m sure the Biden transition team are a smart bunch and realise any of the political appointees are just that and most likely do not have much useful information.
Of greater concern is the behaviour of so many people in the Trump administration, who know it’s game over, but still continue to blindly follow their leader’s wishes to the detriment of their own country.
It’s a shocking indictment of political partisanship, or just how afraid of him, are they?
5
It might be ok, but the Trump culture has proven itself as a win-lose, us against them culture. So the extent to which political appointees are sitting in opn the transition meetings in addition to career employees, there should be a concern - which might not be a problem in previous transitions, but it is the Trump culture that is the problem and has been from the start.
4
Those interested in how the Trump team handled the transition when they came in to office should read The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis. If they showed up to agency briefings at all, they ignored the materials that the Obama administration had prepared fir them. (Obama was impressed by and grateful for how the Bush administration had handled its handover, and vowed that his team would try to do even better for his successor.)
As for the Trump hand, petty amateurs on the way in, and petty amateurs on the way out.
18
@NA
petty people felonious criminals.
Who but an asset of a hostile foreign entity would want to chill the flow of information in the presidential transition process?
314
@VCR I know. He is attempting to damage his -own- country. I just don't understand it.
He and his spawn have to live here too.
47
@DickeyFuller
Trump doesn't care about the United States and never has. The only reason he ran for office was to garner attention for himself. Because he's a narcissist.
20
@DickeyFuller
I do. He is mendacious. And COVID infection is intentional. But the Republican Party is way beyond spineless. And that I don't understand.
8
Trump and the GOP continue to set up petty roadblocks, the kinds of problems that their own incompetent personnel would stumble on. However, Biden and his team are dedicated, knowledgeable professionals who see their work in government as a duty to solve problems and serve the American people. Yet another Democratic administration must stay calm, carry on, and clean up the latest mess the GOP has created.
21
More bullying from Trump and his supporters. I remember when he strode across the stage during a 2016 debate with Hillary Clinton and stood behind her as a means of intimidation. I wished then that she would have turned around and confronted him on his offensive behavior, just like I wish that just one Republican would have the courage to say “enough” to this reprehensible, lame duck.
248
@Mary Jane Timmerman the “lamest” of ducks
2
@Mary Jane Timmerman
Many more women would've voted for her if she had kicked him where (it might) matter.
6
@Mary Jane Timmerman
I too wish Clinton would have called Trump out on the stage. But, that lack of boldness has persisted for the past four years. How many instances can you think of where someone publicly and boldly stood up to Trump and shamed him? I can count them on one hand. Let's please stop hoping the GOP will step up and go against Trump. They will not. They have proven that for four years. The focus must be on Biden and our Congressional Democrats. When will they step up? When will they stop their complacency and silence?
9
In ancient China, when a new dynasty emerged, it typically broke all the gongs used by the previous dynasty in order to erase even the sounds of the previous ruling family.
Trump is breaking the gongs in Washington. He is trying to make things as difficult for Biden as humanly possible. I expect his staff to take sledgehammers to computers and start erasing data bases. The nation needs to take steps now to make sure that this doesn't happen. Our records need to be secured. We cannot allow Trump to pursue this scorched earth strategy.
19
This, rather than a frivolous election lawsuit by Texas, should be brought to the Supreme Court on an emergency basis, before any more damage is done.
Meanwhile, I hear the gears grinding backstage: Purdue and other insider smarty pants big time speculators are making their plans to short the markets, aided by the editorial positions being refined by the WSJ and other Murdock properties intended to rattle the markets come Inauguration Day.
Financial markets, I believe, run on confidence, and Trump is nothing if not a confidence man. He knows welll how to plot to undermine confidence and is not above doing so in his own interests. Of course, like so much of what he tries to get away with, it is also a crime.
So, what, pray, is the motivation behind Team Trump’s efforts to sabotage the kind of smooth transition we generally have from one administration to the next?
Ask yourself: how will YOU benefit... and now will you suffer as a result of their monkey business?
Contrary to the believe of many, I think the Trump phenomena will stay with us until we wake up as a nation and face the threats and challenges. All we have seen since Trump took office, one proof after the other that the nation is divided. Election of Mr. Biden by itself is not the panacea. Trump trivialized the challenges but it didn’t disappear. In places of conflict you bring wisemen from all sides to a reconciliation table. A long term process by which the parties build trust, learn to live cooperatively and create a stable peace. A process also can happen at individual level, community level and national level. We need to be humble enough to come down from “the shinning city upon a hilltop,” and ascend later with new vitality and hope.
5
Nothing new about this —- “ At the Environmental Protection Agency, political appointees have joined virtually every discussion between career staff members and Mr. Biden’s team, monitoring conversations on climate change, scientific research and other topics.”
Having worked for EPA through many political translations it’s always been challenging. Spying on employees, union leaders, outspoken minorities, and civil rights/sexual harassment complainants is not unusual. As for EPA employees — they are resilient.
At some point we must have courage to stand for what is right. Since the beginning political spy’s existed — starting with Arnold Benedict and his wife (Peggy Shippen). George Washington’s best friend and confidant along with his deceitful wife nearly changed the outcome of the revolutionary war.
Again we must overcome tremendous deception on the part of those closest to our government.
8
Of all the subjects Donald Trump thinks he knows about but does not, the most consequential may turn out to be our Constitutional separation of powers. He doesn't understand what the Supreme Court is or how it works.
7
At this point in time, and given the Constitution regards Tramp as the legitimate president with all powers and authority until January 20, Biden has few options than to go along with this nonsense if only to get the transition moving. In the meantime, names should be taken. Then, post January 20, a reckoning for those who resisted, obstructed and interfered with the transition should be undertaken, and precedent of severe repercussions should be established as a warning to future political appointees of any party, who opt to impede the legal governance of the country. Give unto Tramp and his cronies, that which is due.
9
Of all the subjects Donald Trump thinks he knows about but does not, the most consequential may turn out to be our Constitutional separation of powers. He doesn't understand what the Supreme Court is or how it works.
2
When will it be called what it is, Sedition. By having plenty of party members participate it’s like a flash group robbing a Convenience Store.
This group undermines democracy with a shield of disinformation.
11
Under the laws that govern the civil service in the US, career civil service workers enjoy the just about the best job security in the country. They are not going to be chilled or intimidated by a few political employees from the Trump administration who attend meetings.
In addition, conversations between incoming and outgoing employees is probably a very good thing. As the article notes, it's pretty much routine when administrations change.
It is not at all clear whether this article, which is rather biased and reflective of the political agenda of the Times, is a real story worthy of prominent publication, or just another piece designed to engage, and even enrage, the Times' subscriber base.
2
I believe it is likely most readers of The New York Times are already way beyond enraged by the antics of Donald Trump, his employees, and his relatives. After all, as a group Times readers at least know how to read, which is one thing that sets them apart from Trump and his legions.
@Alex tRump is still president until January 20, 2021. These political hacks can still make like miserable for these employees and since tRump changed the civil service firing policy may be in jeopardy. And since you find the Times biased please feel free to tune into Fox news. Can't cure stupid
Trump doesn't strike me as much of a General but his entire campaign and occupation has the mark of military precision.
They think of everything and roll it out strategically in an optimal sequence with contingency plans covering every exit. Even in defeat they manage their decline as a strategic retreat, advancing to the rear and leaving nothing behind for the enemy. Every day there's something new that stuns the mind.
The oldster leaders of the Democrats are reduced to reacting a day late and a dollar short. Every single day they're left behind in the dust.
Trump is certainly a genius con-man, but is he also a Genius? Hard to say. We ordinary folk are incapable of recognizing or evaluating genius. The difference between genius and madness is success and Trump certainly succeeded at taking the Presidency against all odds. That was not luck. Anyone who becomes president has to be very smart.
Maybe Trump IS a Genius. Either that or there's something else behind him. Maybe a cabal of globally connected billionaires, or an international industry group, or an artificial intelligence. Could even be Reptilian outer space aliens; we just don't know. He can't be doing this alone.
If he's the front man for an engineered conspiracy, his defeat may be a strategic consolidation. He, or his successor, will be back stronger than ever. The four years of Trump might be the shock troop that broke open the line and what comes next will consolidate and mop up.
“I assumed that everything we said and the people we were talking to was open to the political people there,” Mr. Ebell said. “And they never said ‘we cleaned the room and it has no microphones in it.’
This actually says a lot about the mind of the average Trumpkin. They assumed that Obama was bugging the transition meetings? Thats just weird.
4
On January 21, these loyalists will be looking for jobs.
5
@Doug Lowenthal
Yeah, but they'll be back in four years after taking that time to consolidate and plan their next assault. In the meantime the Democrats will do nothing to prepare.
The Republicans have been positioning and preparing and planning their takeover for decades, they will be back bigger than ever.
Note they already have the Supreme Court and the State Houses and the Senate. And they got ten million more votes than in 2016. The country will be theirs for the taking in 2024.
All these articles about the transition read like a hostage situation where long time government employees are attempting to be freed from their captor.
5
I think most of us have been in hostile meetings, often with the hostility bubbling up from someone on our own side of the table. The Biden team seems to be full of smart people who can read the room. They will be able to note the small frowns, the compressed lips, and the downcast eyes of career officials who have had to deal with incompetent fools foisted on them by an incompetent and venal leader. And anyone with a private phone line, private email account, or a nearby coffee shop can most likely offer follow up information if the meeting materials are silent on important facts. The trumpaloonies have failed at most of their ploys, and these last gasps of nastiness will soon be history.
7
This is egregious! They all need to charged with obstruction!
7
It's truly sickening how Trump is either:
Leaving a scorched earth behind him like a spoiled child destroying the game because he lost, only now it's people dying from Covid and people going to face starvation because of his meanness and lack of ANY ethical or moral code other than "ME! ME! ME!"
or
Worse--he's setting us up for the unthinkable, already suggested by convicted criminal Michael Flynn--declaring Martial Law and seizing power. It won't fix Covid and won't fix the economy. But it will destroy our democracy.
In the first season of "Star Trek", over a half-century ago, there's an episode called "Charlie X", about an adolescent with the power to control matter and energy. He destroyed the ship that rescued him because "Well, they weren't very nice to me!" as his justification. Trump is apparently out to destroy our nation because...81 million people weren't very nice to him, voting him decisively out of office.
His power is that Republicans are terrified of the 61-69 million of his 74 million voters who are convinced their God-Sent hero couldn't POSSIBLY legitimately lose--because he tells them so! Many of them, 20 years ago, had signs and tee-shirts reading "Sore / Loserman" yet don't see their own hypocrisy.
4
Trump and his minions know no bounds. I’m afraid (terrified) that what we are seeing is only the tip of the iceberg. What’s wrong with these people? Why are any of them in office? Rather than serving the American people, they are destroying the American people (not to mention - but I will - the water, the air, the land...).
10
Fire. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
There...fixed it!
7
Now they have an interest in government?
5
This is standard operating procedure for trump, intimidation, lies and threats. When are we going to lock him up and save our democracy.
9
Trump is inciting a “Coup.” This is sedition, if not treason, as the ideology he is promoting is Putin’s playbook.
It is illegal. Stop coddling what is a clear attempt by Trump and his followers to overthrow our democratically elected government and call it out for what it is. The Press and social media, by stepping around the truth, qare enablers.
Sedition is a crime. Treason is a crime. Take Trump down from Twitter and Facebook or identify Zuckerberg and Dorsey and the Murdock family as being a central part of said Coup.
9
Trump is basically the tin-pot general of a defeated army, destroying or soiling everything he can touch as he makes his ignoble retreat.
4
If Biden actually does make it into the White House on January 20th, I hazard to imagine the mess that he and his administration are going to find. THAT is going to be the big story throughout January and February. Oh, and the pandemic raging through the US. Hopefully Trump will be safely ensconced in Mar A Loco, ranting and raving to Chris Ruddy and his merry band of gay blades, while the Biden people struggle to resuscitate the neutered government they've inherited. God help them.
5
America, because of Trump’s descent into the underworld, looks each new day more as a country run by an asylum for the criminally insane.
Reality, truth is illegal and condemned in their world. Violence, death threats, destruction are welcomed and seen as (sick type) patriotism.
Everyone else is wrong and therefor the enemy.
A cult run amok, encouraged by their leader, who is hiding in the background, making loud noises and threats, but quickly disappearing in his cave and or on a heavenly protected golf course.
An individual who cries wolf and then quickly hides behind his refusal to take any responsibility, apart for putting his signature on useless, meaningless pieces of paper.
A man who believes that everything can be taken care of with bullying. threats, followed by violence and ultimately by death threats.
A man, who after all the many failures in his life, still refuses to learn but instead start to blame ‘others’ for all his past and present failures and now convinces his cult members to aggressively call out these ‘others’.
Dictators have done this for centuries, our ex President has now officially been entered on that infamous list.
Shame falls on (Republican) American people who fell for his scam, the followers, hiding behind the skirts of their self nominated leader.
Only way to stop these threats, all these threats, is to arrest and convict them with very steep monetary penalties of a million dollars and up and up.
NO ONE should be allowed to threaten a life.
4
They can't sink any lower.
If us liberals ever rose up against the ultra right Republicans they would scream bloody murder and run for the hills. This is true! Any people that need a strong man like Trump to justify their congenital bigotry are weaklings and must follow the leader. Trump is a big man made of straw.
2
Republicans, this is disgraceful and you know it. I hope that enough Americans are considering this a final straw to push into a majority to VOTE YOU OUT!
6
The real "deep state".
3
Fire every one of them
1
On day 1, every last Trump appointee must be presented with their walking papers. I hope all our true civil servants on the inside are paying very close attention to their new colleagues in the meantime.
6
Mr. Biden and his transition team need to make clear to the Trump Administration their transition process is not subject to their oversight but cooperation only to the extent requested.
Given Mr. Trump has made public comments alleging Mr. Biden is not the president-elect and has stated, contrary to recent official state-level electoral certifications, he did not legitimately win the election, Trump's political appointees are adversaries to Mr. Biden's transition and are interfering not cooperating or supervising. A federal court order may be needed.
If the Biden transition team requests a meeting with agency employees or officials only those individuals specifically requested by the Biden transition team are to attend.
If there is specific information the Biden transition team may need from other individuals within a particular agency they may request or set up additional meetings with those individuals on an "as needed" basis.
It might be necessary for the Biden transition team to request in-person interviews off-site with individuals within the various federal agencies.
1
No surprise.
The Trump Administration has been destroying federal agencies and expertise, pushing out federal employees, since Day 1.
And since the election, accelerating work to plant land-mines and permanent sabotage of the Biden Administration.
The public does not know/understand the extent of the destruction
16
@SLM
Of course with the Trump administration it might just be curiosity.
Maybe all those lackluster Trump appointees have finally decided to find out what their departments do.
3
I wonder how much of the national security briefing information will end up in Russian intelligence reports after the Trump transition hand-off is accomplished. And I would really love to be that fly-on-the-wall when Trump has his last secret Putin phone call: "Yes, you can take Estonia from Kaliningrad before the Biden appointees take over the Pentagon." For all we know, Trump has revisited the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact dividing Poland.
11
It seems that these appointees and trump are not working for the United States but for another country, since it’s clear they do not want America to be able to run smoothly in the next administration. Hard to prove but it does appear this way by all of their actions.
28
Every single Trump appointee must be purged from any and all agencies.
151
Six months from now, Trump will be a non factor in American politics.
Watch how the Republicans shunt him to the sidelines by next Summer.
Happy to move into an era without his malign presence. Relieved to show new faces and plan a future without him.
Oh, they’ll still have reservoirs of crazy and more than enough residue of insanity and anti-average American ideology. That’s standard Republican since the 1930s.
But, the current peak disconnect from reality will subside without the yellow oaf around and the sycophantic cheerleading by the gnomes who want to please him.
The demand for loyalty gone, the supply dries up.
The whole ugly show will fade.
Americans have short attentions.
Next!
18
You forget that Trump is the natural result of decades of Republican lies and scheming. His ascent to power has left tens of millions of his fellow Republicans unfettered by their traditional claims, always false, of patriotism, morality, family values, or decency. Trump is not some alien phenomenon in the Republican Party, he is the Party.
7
@Paul King
Just what they said about the Nazis in the 20s and 30s.
And yes, Americans have short attentions. Time to wake up and pay some attention to history.
The Biden team is full of sharp professionals who can smell where the information is tainted/manipulated. Biden speaking aloud about it won't change anything but make Diaper Don squeal louder (if that's possible).
Prepare for the onslaught of horror stories once our civil servants aren't gagged. We will find out the true damage and it will make the Pfizer half order look like an appetizer to the rancid buffet to come on the afternoon of Jan 20th.
55
Republican credo:
Free speech for me, not for thee.
27
@itsmildeyes
:) Do as I say, not as I do.
Why has Donald Trump not been cited for treason and sedition? Along with hate speech for inciting and fanning the flames of insurrection?
86
@kmm The root cause is his personal cowardice. We should be thankful for that major flaw. He would NEVER actually lead anything; he expects others to do his evil bidding. He is a weak, deranged person.
7
@kmm Sounds good but Presidents need to be impeached for this. That’s not going to happen. Forget about the 25th. Pence needs to lead that charge.
1
@kmm Republican controlled Senate is the main reason.
1
These people are cult members. Their cult leader has been voted out. Why are they still here? What are they adding to the process? Congress has a lot of work to do making this, and all other tampering and interference acts, illegal.
17
@Dave
Good luck as long as Republicans are in charge of the Senate. Voters should have ousted all Republicans in order for the new Biden Administration to get anything decent done for the future of the America people. Republicans were enablers these past four years of this corrupt tRump administration.
1
Given that none of these people have actually done their job under Trump I wonder what there is to hand over other than a giant mess.
It is worth noting the names of these people as they are by definition not worthy of the trust put into them.
313
@Emblem
In a sense, they’ve all done their real appointee jobs under Trump; they’ve managed to thwart, upend, and subvert government for personal wealth and the wealth of the plutocracy that thrives on the policies of the GOP.
61
Learning the nature of the mess would go a long way to allowing incoming staff to hit the ground running.
9
@Emblem If you are speaking of the political appointees, they have done the job that Trump assigned them - destroy the department in which they are placed. If you are speaking of the career government employees, I'm sure there was resistance, slow walking of tasks, and other actions that may reduce the damage. And to have the 'overlords' from the Trump administration sitting in could be seen as an intimidating force. And it is these career employees that have the institutional knowledge that is necessary for the government to function.
9
Trump and his cronies seem to believe in a scorched earth theory when it comes to a loss. If they leave the country in such a mess that it can't be corrected. they can blame the Biden administration and try for a comeback in '24. That plus they are followers of the Man-Baby whose temper tantrums are so bad the don't want to see another one.
13
@john g
They're not leaving the country. They're continuing to prepare to take over the country. They're in it for the long haul. In Germany it took about a decade...
4
Is anyone surprised by this? I'm not.
13
Trump is a world-class hater, who loves above all else to destroy what others wish to build. What else is there to say?
The religious devotion to him by white conservative evangelicals is for that very reason all the more troubling, especially to those of us who worship the God of the gospel.
10
tick...tock.... he'll be gone soon and I'm betting that many of his loyalist will be too. Maybe they can get on in the new DJT shadow government...
3
@Matchdaddy many? All!
Political Commissars, when one thought that the practice was restricted to North Korea and Cuba. Apparently the differences between the GOP and the Communist Party are non-existent.
10
Deplorable and infantile.
Great combination for one party of a two-party system.
8
Why is anyone still surprised by anything what's-his-name and his cohort of sycophants, liars, thieves, and traitors do? Possibly surprised at the innovative ways they come up with to be obstructionist, destructionist, mean, and downright evil - maybe. But to be surprised that they actually act upon those ideas - no.
6
Still not too late for Trump's stooges to fire people who speak up honestly and acknowledge that Biden won...
6
trump's behaviour is treasonous! When is he going to be impeached again, and this time for the good of the country!
9
Set up a system like this and you need an endless string of spies and informers.
But obviously it’s not working if this article has been published.
So who’s going to police the “loyalists”? Etc. etc.
3
Attempts at Sabotage...plain and simple.
17
@captain canada As we've seen multiple times, e.g., sabotaging the USPS, with toady DeJoy installed as postmaster general, to thwart mail-in ballots.
DIDN'T WORK!
3
I suppose its not as bad as using the FBI to snoop on the Trump transition team and get dodgy FISA warrants like the Obama admin did to Trump
3
@Steve why do you read this paper? Do you not get your "real news" from OAN and newsmax with a dash of Parler thrown in?
5
@Steve
If this were a tweet, there would be a RED disclaimer.
6
Evidence, please. Any evidence at all.
Note: what some fool said on Breitbart is not evidence. I want chapter and verse.
Good luck on your quest.
Trump should be impeached, his behavior since the election is nothing but shameful, any harm that comes to the country from his obstruction, lies and malfeasance should be laid squarely at his feet. He should have been impeached long ago, and again for his recent crimes and lies. He should be in jail. How the GOP supports him should be an embarrassment to them all, and any one that supported or currently still enables him should be hanging their heads in shame.
8
@T. J Trump was impeached.
What would another impeachment solve?
So far Biden's people complained that Trump's people are not cooperating for a smooth transition, now they are complaining that Trump is cooperating too much! NYT is dutifully reporting this kind of nonsense!
2
First off, this isn’t coming from, “Biden’s people.” What, “Biden’s people,” are saying is that everything’s just nifty—probably because as you would know if you’d bothered to read this good article, “Biden’s people,” don’t see any point in making matters worse.
In any case the problem is the same, hasn’t changed. Trump and his apparatchiks are sabotaging as much as they can.
Tell me with a straight face that this isn’t classic Trump behavior. Good luck.
1
@Alex K did you read this article?
Complaining about Trump's and the Republican's underhanded dirty tricks is useless…………
Best just to expect it as today's Republican Party has become the enemy of democracy and the Constitution………
How far the once honorable have fallen…….
Not you Mr President, no one ever mistook you for being honorable……...
9
@RB
"How far the once honorable have fallen"
The GOP? How far back do we need to go, to find honor and honesty in that party? Long, long ago...(maybe).
2
Thank god for our free press!
Let the leaking continue.
10
A bit off topic, but I couldn’t help but notice in the photo of Obama shaking hands with Trump at their first WH meeting, Obama is looking directly at Trump. He’s looking him in the eye. Trump on the other hand is looking down. He can’t even look President Obama in the eye, just like he probably couldn’t look President Elect Biden in the eye. Such a cowardly, petty, vengeful man.
36
And to think... 45 had the nerve to claim that Obama was spying on him!
17
No surprise here as Don Nothing the 45th and his minions are still doing everything possible to make it difficult for the new administration. What a lame bunch of losers!
More seriously, they obviously don't have the tiniest interest in helping the American people and leading in those difficult times. But, hey. it was sooooo predictable.
8
We're skirting the edge of American fascism. If the fraud had been re-elected, there's no assurance the "rule of law" would have continued in this country.
As it is, we're seeing the white-knuckled desperation of a deranged, narcissistic dictator wannabe slipping into a dangerous mental state, unrestrained and tone-deaf to reality.
Equally disturbing is Moscow Mitch's incredibly cruel laughing response to questions about his adamant refusal to recognize the SCOTUIS-backed election results. This is NOT acceptable.
The Founders never envisioned a 2 against 1 standoff of our tripartite "system", with a WH and senate"leader" stonewalling the country and SCOTUS, after the electorate had spoken. This is "historic" in the worst possible way imaginable. And it's not over.
15
@Slann
"We're skirting the edge of American fascism."
We can hope we only skirt the edge. It will be a long haul - we're not out of the woods yet. We've only begun to notice the occasional tree around us.
Good!
1
Recently I thought Trump had invented his denial of the election, a bit of stagecraft designed to encourage supporters for a 2024 run.
But it increasingly appears the president is sinking further into paranoid schizophrenia, with an unhealthy dose of senility as a risk factor. He believes the election was rigged - and like a spoiled brat growing up and making his way in the world, it's become society's job to show him he's just not as damn important as he thought he was.
Though it must be hard for a man of his age, my empathy is limited.
8
An eerie echo of the rise of Hitler and in modern day Turkey, Erdogan.
The Trump Party (cause what else are the Republicans?) has done a masterful job of exploiting every weakness in our system, and for years Republicans worked to seed their "ideology" into our legal, educational, financial, media, regulatory, corporate and religious institutions.
Failure by government overall to deal with the long term issues of worker dislocation, corporate greed and big money, police reform, infrastructure, the wealth divide, healthcare, and more.
Biden at least brings decency and competence. It's going to take a fierce response to roll back the damage this tyrannical GOP and Trump have done and will continue to do if we let them. All the while dealing with the second greatest danger to our country...the Corona Virus.
16
I hope Trumpism will perish from the face of the earth.
26
Trump has been appointing loyalists and cronies to oversight positions throughout government agencies and departments, Pentagon, armed services etc. Can someone please explain why Biden can’t fire those appointees upon entering office?
14
Biden will do just that!
@ABC He can. Perhaps a new cabinet position is required: Secretary of Housecleaning.
While Democrats are labeled as socialists, I don't understand why Republicans are not labeled authoritarians. The new Party of Trump seems to embrace that ideology of dictatorship.
21
@Len Probert Fascists, not "authoritarians", are what we're seeing the GOP become.
3
@Len Probert
"The new Party of Trump seems to embrace that ideology of dictatorship."
Seems to?
When will we tell it like it is?
1
America is infested by internal, political parasites of the Republican ilk. Time to break out goat milk and herbs.
6
They plan to pardon themselves out THEN run again in 2024 for another round of this destruction of democracy.
7
Biden has to react to passive aggressive folks accordingly. Trump is Trump and Biden knows it.
4
This should make it absolutely clear that the GOP enabled Trump and continues to do so and that he is not an aberration, but a manifestation of the depth of depravity and corruption within the GOP. It is time for the Republican Party to be over and time for centrist and moderate conservatives, genuine conservatives to either rest control of the party from the the evangelical faction or to form their own party, because it is clear from the last election that there is significant support for moderate conservatism and centrist policies otherwise Biden would not have won since he represents what the Republican party used to stand for before it was over run by extremists and religious fanatics to a far greater extent than he represents the left leaning elements of the Democratic party. I would happily vote RINO because rhinos are tough and look we already have a logo that beats either an elephant or a donkey.
195
@john wallis
Rhinos are also herbivorous and not aggressive by nature.
7
@john wallis ...So we just have to use a criminal authoritarian president as a benchmark? What's anti Trump is enough?
You want moderate conservativism? So, for example the US would REMAIN the only modern country to still not provide health care for all as a right? After it's been centrist in dozens of countries since the 20th Century?
Congrats to you if your health insurance, income and retirement is secure and adequate.
But what's 'centrist' in America is right wing in most civilized democracies in the world. Their citizens wouldn't put up with our lack of support by the government we elect.
8
@john wallis
the evangelicals need to get out.
2
I don't think this is about Trump. He's watching TV and whinging all day. He clearly has no interest in the workings of government.
Actually, he never did.
No. This is the Trump GOP yet again entering into their total obstruction phase for the next 4 years. Because they truly believe that they are the only people in America with the right to rule.
601
@Elizabeth
The chances of us picking up the GA Senate seats are slim, especially with them working on closing down early voting sights, & they will most likely go after mail-in ballots next. I hope to hell & back that Biden & his team have the backbone to fight the monster with all they have.
17
@Elizabeth
He has no interest in the workings of democratic government.
He's interested in power - total power. And so are his active fascist comrades. (As distinguished from his throngs of duped supporters.)
13
@JJ Unfortunately our government is mostly about math, not about the amount of fight. If voters do not give democrats the senate then no legislation will pass. End of story.
It’s doesn’t seem fair to expect politicians to perform miracles when voters can’t seem to make it happen either.
6
Resembles Soviet Union commissars. Do we have a Ministry of Truth?
216
@Nelle Douville
Yes, trump is getting his instructions from Putin. It's amazing what trump will do when he owes
$ 470,000,000 dollars to his lenders!
38
Not yet.
4
@Nelle Douville
I'm sure Biden will get around to that.
1
There's no hurry, sea levels are not going to flood coastal cities between now and inauguration day. There will be plenty of time for the bureaucrats and Democrats to go back to their merry ways and cozily hobnob.
3
@Robby
Wha?
5
I think youre misinformed if you think it’s going to be business as usual.
2
I wonder how many Trumped up firings are going to take place after these transition meetings but before Biden can assume office?
Or worse, the Trump fanatics report things like the meetings minutes to captains of industry to enable them to subvert the process of Biden's future Climate Change mitigations efforts.
7
In the god old days of the Soviet Union there was a political officer embedded in every organization. He monitored the opinions and actions of employees for adherence to ideology and reported violations.
Looks like Trump has learned a lot from his old buddy Putin, who got his education in the KGB.
140
@Gary In WWII every Red army unit of a certain size had its "Commissar," a political officer who was paired with the unit commander. I wonder, was he a help or a hindrance? Khrushchev was a top-level Commissar at the Battle of Stalingrad, reporting directly to Stalin. In our case, I hope they are keeping track of these Trumpster spies for firing later.
4
The stuff that is going to come out of these agencies once the clown car has pulled away from the curb is going to be...interesting.
79
Likely, we will never hear about any of it, as Biden protects us from knowing. Like children.
@Américaine How can he "protect" us from whistle blowers and leakers who no longer work for the Trump admin?
Just another day salting the fields and poisoning the well as the Trump administration prepares to vacate the executive branch. Make no mistake about it, Trump is doing everything possible to prevent the Biden administration from being successful.
138
@Skip
And people like McConnell and Rubio are just salivating over any and all of those nefarious efforts.
19
@Skip
Which means he is always sabotaging the US.
1
@Skip And, it almost goes without saying, diminishing the health and well-being of the American people.
Is there some reason we shouldn't consider these actions treasonous?
1
I suppose we could also take this opportunity to ask “Why do we even have political appointees in positions of responsibility at these important agencies?”
They don’t actually know anything. They’re political operatives. (Much, much, worse when Republican, of course.)
30
@Robbiesimon So true. These political appointees are truly ignorant. We must remember that Trump will not allow anyone in his administration to have more knowledge or be more intelligent than him. That is why this country is on the brink of collapse. Trump is definitely the stupidest and most incompetent “leader” this nation has ever had. His feeble attempts at being like the dictators he envies are pathetic, but still evil enough to tear down our democracy brick by brick.
1
This has a 'Fear of a Future Purge' written all over it.
They really are salting the earth in an all out war to destroy Dems no matter what the consequences.
Imagine being a career Civil Servants operating, knowing the GOP is watching every move. When they get back in power your job is toast. Unless you toe the line.
What a horrible situation these blood sport politicians have created.
38
People used to settle these things the old fashioned way: war, assassination, general killing. (The first at least had some semblance order and strategy.)
We still have those same impulses and incentives, we've just sublimated them into politics and business, etc. Sun Tzu's The Art of War has been a foundational text in business/management courses and polisci classes for more than a generation.
I also expect Biden to have carefully documented every single malfeasance of the Trump administration.
Malfeasance is such a kind word for Trump’s blunders, which itself is bland, were it not for the grim covid death toll.
Thank whatever deity you choose that Trump is simply too lazy to do the hard work necessary to be a successful dictator.
43
@Bach
"I also expect Biden to have carefully documented every single malfeasance of the Trump administration."
Do you? There's an inherent conflict/contradiction between a policy of unity and letting bygones by bygones and a policy of justice.
It won't be easy to navigate these coming years/decades, in a struggle for real democracy and a fight against growing fascism.
We really need to walk and chew gum at the same time - (1) work for unity and democracy, and (2) be vigilant and unforgetting in fighting injustice and fascism.
“Merely awkward.” That describes the wretched little shell of a man occupying our Oval Office. To that we could add pitiable, petty, needy, self consumed, mean, irrelevant, unwelcome, and in possession of far too much power than he can handle. He will never stop coming downstairs after bedtime to inject himself into the grownups’ party.
22
@Bob Jones you had me at petty!
@Bob Jones
Criminal comes to mind strongest. You are far too withholding and diplomatic. Trump runs everything he does like a criminal. A sociopathic criminal. Full stop.
2
I don’t think we will be able to stop this as long as propaganda outlets are allowed to continue to spread lies and misinformation across the airwaves. Fox news finally found some limits, but now Newsmax and OAN are more than willing to pick up where Fox left off. The lies being promoted as “news” by these outlets should be seen for what they are: attacks on America from within. This cannot fall under the right to free speech if it actively incentives citizens to destroy our system of government. Far from being “Patriots,” they are being radicalized into fascist terrorists, recognizing themselves as the only legitimate citizens of this country. I recognize the slippery slope of “approved” speech, but we need a way to combat these anti-American outlets from feeding fear, hatred and sedition with impunity. As long as the electorate is radicalized and enraged, the GOP will never gain control of their party and it will continue to swing towards Fascism. The tolerance of intolerance is going to destroy this country.
33
The Truth Needs No Defense .....
A smart lawyer told me once on the way to the witness stand. If Trumpolini and his minions have destroyed, obfuscated, delayed, obscured, misled, misdirected, committed criminal acts, destroyed evidence or just simply acted against the interests of the nation they (were supposed to) serve - so be it. Just state it plainly and let the chips fall where they may.
That the GOP and its Trumpkins would resort to the tactics described is no surprise at all ....
10
@Lars
"Just state it plainly and let the chips fall where they may."
No. State it plainly - and widely and loudly.
And no, do NOT just "let it be".
We fought a world war over this. 20 million russians killed; 9 million jews, gypsies, handicapped, socialists, unionists, democrats, etc. exterminated.
2
@Drew
Well said ...
It remains beyond amazing that GOP acolytes have chosen to be complicit in this Trumpkin generated mess, instead of stating the obvious and being empowered by telling the truth. There is nothing to fear in Trump - he will bluster and blow, but he is not Amur'ca.
No real problem here. All these Trumpers will be gone in a month, and Biden will carry on as president. Having these "monitors" in meetings is pointless. Biden's administration won't be affected by this in any way.
2
@Ms. Pea
"No real problem here."
That attitude is a big part of the problem. Winning the presidency was necessary; it's far from sufficient.
Things will NOT be hunky-dory just because we elected Biden. The last thing we can afford to do is lull ourselves to sleep with the mantra "No real problem here."
We dodged a bullet - a HUGE (Glorious Stable Genius) bullet. But that bullet was just the first shot across the bow.
1
Congressional hearings. Impeachment proceedings.
13
@David Which will be, I fear, needlessly, and, perhaps, endlessly, diverting and ultimately ineffective.
3
@David Waste of time. trump has been impeached already by the House, but the senate under mcconald and repub control did not remove.
When President Biden takes over, hopefully he will have some support from patriotic repubs.
1
How is this not illegal? When does this abhorrent behavior become treasonable behavior? Why are we still defining this administration and it’s adherents as merely obnoxious, continuing to tut tut and count down the remaining days of 45’s tenure as if it’s just another year end wrap up?
21
Just 42 days to go. Wish it was sooner.
17
At what point is this activity seen as what it is: seditious.
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@David Kannas We've passed that point.
4
Republicans will continue attacking the United States until we forcibly shut them out.
This is an example of why trump and his co-conspirators must be prosecuted. Absent their convictions they will continue trying to hurt the country every way they can imagine.
14
Will there be no end to this childish, vindictive man's actions?
6
What in the world has America ever done to Donald Trump to deserve his vindictive, punishing behavior? Isn't it time for him to do something positive and selfless FOR the country rather than something mean-spirited and selfish TO it?
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@John Wilson It would be against his nature. his whole life has been about what he can do for himself. To him, destroying our country is worth a trump tower in Moscow.
1
This is entirely consistent with the Russian playbook HRC warned us about. To Biden's credit he has excluded the socialists like Sanders from his coalition. The Democrats must stay alert for Russian sympathizers in their ranks.
5
@jh How quaint. You seem to imply that Russia is socialist. Dude, the cold war has ended. Didn't anyone tell you?
You know what? The biggest failure of the GOP is the lowering of standards for those hired for government service. Trump trying to neuter civil service rules and , in his psycho needy way requiring loyalty over competence, has give us a government of thugs and frankly, otherwise unemployable grunts.
If they lived in Russia , they would be employees of the month for Putin.
Now, Mr. Trump will be gone on January 20th. He will continue to make noise because that is his only real skill. I suggest he get this crowd to form a chorus that does a world class concert of "Send in the clowns".
From sea to shining sea, the audiences will cheer and money will be raised .
13
Can these people be fired when Biden takes over? Can there positions be marginalized to where they mean nothing and the real positions taken over by people who are not trump toadies?
4
@Mj Yes. Positions can be reclassified, or new ones created, that would be above the ones held by trump toadies.
1
Please tell me this man will be under surveillance for the rest of his life. He is an ongoing threat to this country.
32
Can we now stop talking about how the Democrats are supposedly going “too far left” and start focusing how the Republican party under Trump is barreling headlong towards Fascism?
20
King Donald will never let democracy triumph. Everyone is his pawn.
4
He is such a good communist.
6
Trump has filled the leadership of government agencies and departments with ideologues who want to destroy those agencies.
The Biden Transition Teams must have the complete set of administrative appointees available to start immediately at 12 noon on Jan 20th in all agencies, to prevent further damage to those agencies. In advance of that date, they should get a complete list of all executive actions in each agency for the past 4 years, and be prepared to reverse these and offer alternative actions on Day One.
The Biden Transitions Teams should also make it clear to Trump appointees that they will be prosecuted for any last-minute destructive actions against these agencies. Following orders is not an excuse.
70
Nothing to worry about here, they are speaking two different languages: the vocabulary of competence--e.g. implementation, systems, timelines---versus the vocabulary of incompetence---e.g. fake, beautiful, fantastic.
23
You going to be the one that tells that to the kids in cages? Nothing to worry about?
1
The pettiness and immaturity bordering on abusive negligence is astonishing.
How can any of these people claim to love this country? Party over country has won the day for them and it sickens me.
We are only as strong as we are a United States of America, and right now we are too divided to call ourselves a fully functioning nation. I hope President Biden helps to heal the wounds but I worry about people who will go out of their way to let them fester over the next 4 years.
29
@Nick Completely agree with you. This is the way.
I recommend Biden's team utilize Scott Pruitt's $43,000 "cone of silence" he had installed in the EPA for all transition team meetings henceforth. Most of us cannot wait for this national security nightmare to end, but it's likely only just beginning and we will look back on these times and realize how naive we all were.
23
Anything less than full cooperation during the transition process is potentially injurious to the continued success of the country and should be viewed as an act of treason.
51
The VOA has been under attack ever since individual #1 appointed Michael Pack. I would recommend researching Michael Pack for perspective.
The existence and importance of this agency is largely unknown to many. This is where the buck starts and stops for propaganda, our identity to the world.
For Michael Pack to refuse to provide information to the incoming administration speaks volumes about the power that individual #1 has over our message to the world.
Individual #1 and Michael Pack are not the voices of America,they are the antithesis to EVERYTHING we as a country stand for.
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Because the pain this administration has inflicted on our nation has not been enough. They need to make sure that we all suffer long after Trump and his loyalists are back in the private sector. Be that in companies or government contracted, privately operated prisons.
9
I thought sunshine was the best disinfectant?
7
Not surprising in the least. We've seen this movie before. For the remainder of Trump's tenure, simply imagine what a smart, responsible person concerned with the good of the country would do, and understand that Trump and his minions will do the exact opposite.
39
It strikes me as insanely cynical for Trump's EPA transition lead to assert that while Obama's administration disinvited political appointees to their transition meetings, they probably listened in with microphones. What despotic cave did these people crawl out from?
14
The Trump loyalists need to understand one thing, he's out of a job and he may talk about running again in 2024 but that's just so he can collect donations to pay off his personal debts.
43
Members of said Crazytown.
They will do anything to deny the contention of well being, common sense and consideration described by Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg Address.
In Crazytown, liberty and freedom translates to Get Crazy to get what you want as an American right and institution.
Crazytown residents have the liberty and freedom to make declarations and constitute crazy behavior without explanation.
Founding fathers include Louis Gohmert, Ron Johnson, Susan Collins, Meadows, Jordan, Giuliani, Ratcliff, Cornyn, Cotton and who can forget Doug Collins as a stature in Crazytown's Square is erected.
10
I am not sure when we allowed resentful adolescents throwing temper tantrums to run our government, but I sure wish I could withhold their paychecks and give them a timeout.
21
Any more this isn't about Mr. trump it's about how the Republican Party could have let this happen.
22
@E Ciambarella Just plain karma. After the way the repubs in congress treated twice-elected President Obama, the repubs went crazy and got their just desserts in the electoral college president trump.
Too bad we've all had to suffer for it. But there's a Biden over the horizon elected by the majority of us and we can began restoring our government and country into something we can again be proud of.
Each day we reach further depths of the depravity of Trump and his minions. Here we are in the middle of a deadly pandemic and the floodgates of free information flow between the 2 administrations should be wide open. All agencies should be sharing everything they can to make the transition smooth so Biden can step right in and manage the many outstanding problems we have on day 1. And thanks to the Congressional GOP members for helping this along!
Pathetically shameful.
Inauguration Day 2021 can't get here soon enough.
35
Trump and his loyalists see transition as transitioning from the transitory sharing of the spotlight with a president-elect toward refastening their grips on the true and legitimate president, Donald Trump. Trump believes Biden will cheat America out of its future with a socialist agenda, so he is defending America against a misuse of democracy, for our own good. Fred Trump's authoritarian abuse of his family and his tenants was based on the same principle. If you don't do use the rod, you spoil the child and everyday you aren't using the rod, you are cheating the child (and the American people) out of their rightful future.
2
This is another alarm bell about the extent Trump supporters will go to disrupt the Biden/Harris presidency.
Good to reveal these Trump sabotage efforts to the American people. The whole world must know how low Trump will continue to go to avenge his loss.
Biden cannot naively go into this presidency begging for a handshake across the aisle and singing kumbaya with Mitch McConnell and his band of GOP obstructionists promising to thwart Biden's every move.
9
Biden’s transition team is smarter and knows more about the workings of government than these low-rent loyalists, so it’s probably more of an irritant than anything else to have them around.
12
This is good. The loyalists are waving big flags and saying "come and get me". The new administration will know who not to trust, and who to investigate.
6
Of course Trump's people in the agencies are going to make the transition difficult for Biden. Trump wants to hurt Biden as much as he can because Trump is a vengeful guy. Also, they may be covering up any malfeasance and corruption that took place the last four years. Anyway, every day that goes by Joe's to-do list gets longer and longer.
13
It's going to take years to dig out all the Trumpists but it has to be done.
What a joke this place is, it's embarrassing.
9
This could be dismissed as stupidly childish if there weren't so many in the cult being asked to die for "the cause." Normally, this would mean nothing at all by January 21st. But the loss of comity in Congress and the ability for holders of bizarre beliefs to find and communicate with like-minded folks on social media could combine to bring us all down to the reality show lowest common denominator. Which, for my money, translates to no progress, no care for the vulnerable and no country.
7
Maybe they are there for remedial lessons on how good government is done.
4
During almost four years we amply witnessed what Trump is capable of doing so it should not surprise anyone what is now happening during the transition. Trump’s dirty maneuvers will not end until he is aboard Air Force One for the very last time so President-Elect Joe Biden should just ignore Trump’s behavior during the transition as much as possible and work hard to be as prepared as possible to hit the deck running on January 20, 2021. That said, someone should be in charge of properly documenting all the Trump’s unethical (and maybe even illegal) actions during the transition in case it would be appropriate to take Trump to court after Inauguration Day.
11
Like so many, I have been shocked and horrified by what the GOP has become. Plenty of people have written all about this and there is still much more to write. What I would simply like to say is that I find the scariest aspect of all of this is that this is now normal, now “OK” by tens of millions of Americans. I am not the only one who struggles to have a conversation with certain relatives. I recently ended one such conversation with a pro-Trump relative by simply saying: “You sure seem a lot more angry and hateful than I am”.
So where does the USA go from here? I am hoping and praying that President Obama’s perspective of the zig and zag of progress will be true. However, I think the Democrats and decent Republicans need to recognize that there is evil within US borders and be very vigilant about mitigating this. Trump would not be where he is today if so many people did not believe in his “movement” and that to me has been the most shocking aspect of this era.
I had the privilege of listening to President Reagan and George H. W. Bush speak in person and I felt uplifted and proud to be American. I voted for them. Never, ever will what the GOP has become be acceptable. Perhaps with some form of education more people can become enlightened. Simply meeting immigrants who have fled “authoritarian” countries and hearing their stories might cause them to question Trump tactics.
Here is hoping.
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1. not surprised.
2. hope is not an appropriate course of action in times such as these.
12
@Chris Canuck
This is assuming there still are decent Republicans.
It should be obvious by now that Rudy Giuliani's efforts-- however buffoonish-- are truly intended to take away our right to vote. The same goes for the case the Supreme Court just turned down-- probably to Trump's surprise, since he expects the Supreme Court justices he nominates to vote the way he tells them to. Yet Republicans (except for Mitt Romney) have nothing to say about a concerted effort to undercut the bedrock of American democracy.
And even as Trump is trying to overturn the national election, Republicans in the state of Georgia are doing their best to disenfranchise Black Democratic voters ahead of the runoff election.
Decent people don't do these things. Decent people can play hard to win. But they don't relentlessly cheat.
No wonder the Republican party didn't publish its party platform before this election. Here it is:
REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM
Cheat
Cheat
Cheat some more
Then accuse the other guy of what YOU'RE doing!
30
@Chris Canuck I think we have to admit to ourselves that the GOP is not interested in a democratic government. If we had no elections, they’d be just fine with that. Some kind of autocracy. Corporate fascist police state. This didn’t start with Trump. It’s been building since 1980. Trump is the burst pustule. So, we have Uncle Joe for four years unless Trump pulls some martial law stunt. What happens in 2024 where half the country exists in an alternate reality? How do you begin a conversation with people who not only believe 2+2=5, but actively hate those who think otherwise?
25
Unfortunately the disruptions are going to get worse in the coming years.
I suspect Donald Trump will work with a foreign government to undermine the Biden administration and democracy.
This fits the pattern he has set and would be lucrative for him.
419
@baba
No that you mention it, it seems that's what he's been doing for the past four years.
36
- like he worked with a foreign govt to get elected. He does seem to have all the contacts he needs to produce an entirely fact free universe for his followers.
41
@baba I think you overestimate the fraud's ability to see, and act, on any future that doesn't position him as the focus. Having to "work" with another country would not interest him; too hard, no spotlights, and no quick remuneration.
10
It is something unusual e not acceptable. Trump and his team show how harmful they have been to the country. Those political appointees may be accountable for the harm they have done to America.
49
@Geraldo Eugenio
Republicons have been doing this, punishing members for what they take stands on, since WWII.
2
Isn’t placing loyalists in positions to observe and report a dictatorial thing to do?
If we remember back to the beginning of the Trump administration, this was also part of the Trump administration as they searched out those that might have said a discouraging word about Trump or did research in global warming for example.
Lest we forget, Republicans had no problem with this aspect of Trump’s administration.
327
@David Bible Definitely. The only thing the Trump Administration has ever shown interest in administering is loyalty tests. Personal loyalty, of course.
22
@Michael
You nailed it. That's why Trump wants political loyalists in on meetings. So they can report on what horrible things might be said about Trump.
He's just a bully who sends someone to the other side to listen in on what they're saying.
7
Keeping in mind that Impeached Forever 45* expects to shortly have the new power to fire at will certain now-protected Federal employees, it seems obvious that said employees might hold back their real opinions in meetings monitored by loyalists to a tyro such as Donald.
112
@R. Law They will find that holding their ethics and their tongues in check will not save their jobs and is never the right thing to do.
5
Indeed. Competent career civil servants probably, rightfully, think they will immediately be fired (without civil service procedures) if they participate in transition meetings professionally and ethically. I hope Biden/Harris have a stack of pink slips ready to hand out on Jan. 21st.
1
Everything Donald Trump and his loyal cadre of supporters and enablers have politicized every aspect of the transition for President-elect Joe Biden, so we should not be surprised that Trump has "seeded" the process at the Environmental Protection Agency with spies and disrupters.
For a soundly defeated President Trump who refuses to concede the election results, the actions are unethical and possibly illegal. For the Biden team to go to court to stop this, however, may be more trouble than it's worth.
147
@sdw I disagree. A spoiled child responds to "timeout". The republican party of trump needs a long timeout from the national stage. Biden should go after trump like a fly goes after rotted meat.
16
@Armo Why did your last sentence cause me to think of Mike Pence?
1
If there weren't high level Trump officials attending the meetings then there would be complaints about how Trump was slow-walking the transition by sending mid-level employees that didn't have a full grasp of the current system. I'm sure once Biden is sworn in we will stop hearing about these anonymous complaints from career bureaucrats leaking their first-world problems to the press.
8
@Michael D, High level officials make policy. If they are involved in day to day operations they are generally there as spoilers.
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@Michael D
It is laudable to take the news with a grain of salt, however, the article also outlines that the incoming administration has not been given access to classified materials and that the heads of some agencies have outright refused to meet with the transition team. That sounds slightly more serious than career bureaucrats whining. Don't we want the appropriate officials to have the knowledge they need to perform their job on day one rather than playing catch-up at the start of the new term? At my work, we try to extend this same courtesy to anyone moving across teams.
83
Although the norm has been to let the deep state brief the new arrivals on how things work without supervisors (political hacks) gumming up the works, this president doesn’t “do” norms. Like the Election officials threatened for doing their jobs, the outbound team needs to reinforce to the new guys that people are watching and could be called to act if things are not done a certain way, so that the old team at least has time to leave the country before the indictments for total mismanagement comedown. “Just get me a gun and a horse and a days head start”.
4