Delayed transition now causing problems in FBI getting permanent clearance for Biden’s national security

President-elect Joe Biden has announced that the delayed transition isn't a problem and that he and his team will ultimately be fine. But experts have questioned how it couldn't be an inconvenience that would lead to problems for incoming national security and public health officials, The Atlantic reported Monday.

Biden has worked to raise money for the transition, telling supporters that since they don't have access to the funds for incoming presidents, that they need donations to make it.

Biden has quickly formed a team of top medical, public health and virus experts prepared to take on the pandemic on Jan. 20, 2021. Without access to the information about what has been done, the Biden team will be starting at the beginning.

"Biden advisers have warned that the delay could prove deadly during the pandemic, since it will hamper the new administration’s ability to swiftly distribute vaccines that appear poised for federal approval," The Atlantic reported.

“As knowledgeable as they are, they're still on the outside. It’s a real limitation," said Max Stier, the CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a group that has helped both parties.

Former George W. Bush chief of staff Andy Card cited the "9/11 Commission Report" on how the Florida county caused problems for their team in taking seriously warnings that an Al-Qaeda attack was imminent. The commission report said that the slow transition left the U.S. vulnerable to a terrorist attack when it wouldn't have been the case otherwise.

"The FBI cannot begin processing permanent security clearances for incoming Biden officials, which could result in crucial agencies being understaffed in the event of a terrorist attack," said The Atlantic. "It was the 9/11 attacks during the eighth month of President George W. Bush’s first term that helped prompt an overhaul of the presidential-transition process so that new administrations would be better prepared in the future."

The report explained that other issues could be "less obvious" but could be "felt widely throughout the new administration."

"One of the most important but often overlooked aspects of a presidential transition, Stier told me, is the integration of a new administration’s many political appointees into a career federal workforce that must carry out its policies," wrote the Atlatnic.

The secretaries are the ones who meet with career public servants ahead of the inauguration to ensure there's no pause in getting work done.

“There’s been a lot of turmoil, and turmoil is not good for organizational performance,” said Stier.

Read the full report at The Atlatnic.