DONALD TRUMP STILL HASNT FILLED CRITICAL NATIONAL SECURITY POSTS
What was once a talking point on the campaign trail is now, for some, a terrifying reality. Whether or not Donald Trump is “really the guy that you want with the nuclear codes,” as Hillary Clinton was fond of asking, the former reality-TV star is indeed about to receive them. While the exact timing of his classified briefing has not been disclosed, Politico notes that past presidents-elect have received instructions for ordering a nuclear attack in the hours before their inauguration. “It's a sobering moment,” former chief of staff Andrew Card, who was with George W. Bush before and after he received the nuclear codes, told Politico. “It defines the ultimate obligation that you might have.”
Perhaps even more sobering is the fact that while Trump prepares to take the oath of office, the national-security apparatus surrounding his incoming administration reportedly remains woefully understaffed and unprepared for the transition of power, leaving the White House vulnerable to any immediate crises. One source close to the transition told Politico that the staffing at the National Security Council and other defense agencies is a “black box” with no clear chain of command. Trump’s transition team has reportedly struggled to find sub-Cabinet level candidates after ruling out hiring any of the dozens of foreign-policy veterans in Washington who signed letters opposing Trump during his campaign. They were also apparently unprepared for the possibility that Trump might actually win the election. The New York Times reports that Trump’s team didn’t make contact with the N.S.C. until two weeks after the election and has had little contact with the department below the most senior levels in the months since. “It took them more time than we expected for them to be ready to engage with us,” Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, told the newspaper, adding that her team is now “racing to make up lost time.”
While retired Lieutenant General Mike Flynn, Trump’s pick for national-security adviser, has tapped a number of his former associates—a group that has been dubbed the “Flynnstones” by outgoing officials, Foreign Policy reports—countless key jobs remain unfilled. Vice President-elect Mike Pence has yet to name a national security adviser, nor have any names been announced for a number of senior jobs overseeing military spending, nuclear weapons, and counterterrorism. Earlier this week, the Trump transition suffered another setback when Fox News commentator Monica Crowley, the president-elect’s pick for deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, withdrew her name from consideration amid allegations that she plagiarized segments of her book What the (Bleep) Just Happened? and her Ph.D. dissertation at Columbia University.
The Trump transition office has pushed back on reports of their unreadiness. Sean Spicer, the incoming White House press secretary, called the team’s efforts the “gold standard” when asked about their progress by reporters on Wednesday. Flynn told the Times in a statement this week, “Members of our incoming team have held extensive meetings with their N.S.C. counterparts.”
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/01/donald-trump-national-security-council
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you covered your ass. You can go now."
