Many of President-elect Donald Trump's new Cabinet nominees conducted a transition exercise at the White House designed to confront national security threats.
Senior officials in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, including most of his Cabinet nominees, were at the White House on Wednesday to participate in a transition exercise organized by President Joe Biden's team.
The transition table exercise was chaired by National Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall in the White House Crisis Room, the presidential residence said, and included a substantial portion of Biden's outgoing cabinet during the two-day session. hours. The exercise has been a key part of presidential transitions since the attacks of September 11, 2001, and offers outgoing and incoming teams the opportunity to rehearse how to respond to and manage various national security crises.
Wednesday's simulation addressed managing potential terrorist attacks and bird flu, among other challenges.
Sometimes the exercises can become a disturbing forecast of reality. During the 2016-17 transition from then-President Barack Obama to Trump, one of those exercises included a discussion of the United States' response to a global public health event. Three years later, the Trump administration faced the COVID-19 pandemic.
This occurs two weeks after an attack inspired by the Islamic State in New Orleans on New Year's Day left 14 dead and more than two dozen injured. The country is currently managing an outbreak of bird flu that has left one person dead and affected the nation's food supply.
Among those attending were Senator Marco Rubio, chosen by Trump to be Secretary of State; former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence; his pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth; and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, his nominee for secretary of Homeland Security, among others.
Rep. Mike Waltz, the next national security adviser, and other senior White House officials were also representing Trump's team.
The Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas; Attorney General Merrick Garland and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were among Biden's Cabinet officials or their deputies who participated in the session, which took place hours after the United States helped negotiate a ceasefire. between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Biden's team has been highlighting its efforts to cooperate with Trump's transition efforts, including responding to hundreds of requests for information across the government about ongoing programs and sharing reports on the five to 10 most pressing issues in each agency. The activity comes after White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and other senior officials encouraged Trump's team to sign required agreements with the outgoing administration to allow information sharing.
Trump's team waited until after Election Day to sign the agreements, instead of doing so before, as required by Congress.
The White House also separately briefed Trump's team on major issues, including the areas of global health, disaster response and artificial intelligence, that may require action in the new administration's first six months.
Wednesday's exercise follows an earlier roundtable in November with senior career government officials to prepare to support the incoming government.
Separately, Susie Wiles, Trump's White House chief of staff, was seen in the West Wing of the presidential residence earlier Wednesday before the exercise, where she met with senior members of the current administration.