Name: Trump's Transition Chaos Is A National Security Nightmare
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Trump's Transition Chaos Is A National Security Nightmare

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US EditionU.S.CLOSEFollow usPart of HuffPost Politics. ©2020 Verizon Media. All rights reserved.BREAKING NEWSTap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you.Trump installed Michael Ellis, who was previously involved in Republican efforts to question Russian interference in the 2016 election, as general counsel, .&nbsp;Ellis has been transferred to a civil servant position, making it harder for Biden to remove him,&nbsp;.The president is desperate to declassify intelligence on Moscow’s meddling to justify his 2016 win, regardless of how that might hurt sensitive research methods and American alliances,&nbsp; on Wednesday.The possibilities worrying the ex-Obama staffer and others range from Trump launching a war, to using an executive order he signed last month to place political loyalists in some influential roles usually held by civil servants.And the personnel moves in the national security arena go well beyond just the Pentagon and National Security Agency. It’s clear a thorough purge is underway. On Friday, Trump ousted Bonnie Glick, a former foreign service officer serving as the deputy head of the sprawling U.S. Agency for International Development. The move kept his &nbsp;John Barsa in charge of the organization, despite the fact that his term as acting chief .&nbsp;On Monday, Barsa told his team the transition of power to Biden has not yet begun,&nbsp;.&nbsp;Trump also forced Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the administrator of the agency that oversees America’s nuclear stockpile, out of her job on Friday. “That the Secretary of Energy effectively demanded her resignation during this time of uncertainty demonstrates he doesn’t know what he’s doing in national security matters,” , the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee,&nbsp;said.Trump’s General Services Administration chief, Emily Murphy, has also refused to sign a letter granting resources to Biden’s transition team,&nbsp; on Sunday night, subverting a normal practice seemingly because of the president’s dishonest claims that the election is still not settled. That denies Biden not only taxpayer funding and computer systems but also full , which former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican, &nbsp;should already be receiving.A longtime Trump adviser he believes that CIA director Gina Haspel and FBI director Christopher Wray could also be removed soon.They want to respect the fact that the U.S. only has one president at a time ― not least because of Democratic frustration with Trump acting as though he was already in charge when dealing with Russia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates before Obama left office in 2016.&nbsp;Few Democrats expect help from the other side of the aisle. Many Republican lawmakers are&nbsp; Trump’s dangerous conspiracy theories about the vote. Even when GOP figures have challenged the president’s foreign policy choices, they have rarely actually blocked them. And some ambitious Republicans to stay on the Trump family’s good side, anticipating that the outgoing president will remain a force in conservative politics.“I don’t have any faith in Mitch McConnell’s Senate. … As we’ve all seen over the last four years, the president has a lot of flexibility and leeway when it comes to national security, so I’m not really sure there are many guardrails,” the former Obama staffer said.Asha Rangappa, a former FBI official, &nbsp;upcoming “sabotage, vindictiveness, and norm-breaking” beyond even the excesses of Trump’s first term. “It’s time to brace ourselves,” she tweeted on Sunday.Iran will likely be Trump’s biggest target in his lame-duck period.&nbsp;Hardliners in the administration believe Democrats are too soft on Iran and want to make it difficult for Biden to resurrect the Obama-era accord that gave Iran greater access to the global economy in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. Some figures associated with Trump’s maximalist Iran policy, notably Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also believe pushing a hard line now could help them if they seek higher office later.On Sunday, that Trump plans to “flood” Iran with sanctions. The country of 80 million is&nbsp; under unprecedented U.S. restrictions and one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the coronavirus. A new wave of financial pain would boost anger and distrust on the Iranian side and eventually set up a tougher fight for Biden domestically, where he would have to justify rolling back those measures to a hawkish Congress.Trump could also create a situation that’s so difficult Iran feels it must respond or — &nbsp;— launch his own operations, including in secret.&nbsp;The administration has already proved willing to risk a direct clash by hitting Iran-linked targets in Iraq, , the former Obama official noted. “We could certainly see more of that and even on an accelerated scale if this president isn’t bound by any sort of political pressure.”Iran is also thought to still want to avenge Soleimani’s killing and some analysts believe it could use the unstable transition period to do so. Tehran may avoid a confrontation, however, in preparation for a more coherent approach from Biden, said Tamara Cofman Wittes, a former State Department official now at the Brookings Institution.Before the president-elect can begin that work, Trump can cause additional pain. His October&nbsp; on federal employees makes it easier for him to fire career civil servants and&nbsp;&nbsp;without going through the normal competitive hiring processes.Calling all HuffPost superfans!Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapterDo you have information you want to share with HuffPost?Today is National Voter Registration Day!We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote!

US EditionU.S.CLOSEFollow usPart of HuffPost Politics. ©2020 Verizon Media. All rights reserved.BREAKING NEWSTap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you.Trump installed Michael Ellis, who was previously involved in Republican efforts to question Russian interference in the 2016 election, as general counsel, .&nbsp;Ellis has been transferred to a civil servant position, making it harder for Biden to remove him,&nbsp;.The president is desperate to declassify intelligence on Moscow’s meddling to justify his 2016 win, regardless of how that might hurt...

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Trump's Transition Chaos Is A National Security Nightmare

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