WASHINGTON - Prevented by President Donald Trump from being briefed on national security issues by the government's own officials, President-elect Joe Biden turned to his own circle of experts for guidance in a stark reminder of Mr Trump's refusal to cooperate in a traditional transition.
They said they were being prevented from working with government officials in charge of distributing the vaccines and had not been given access to any government data on case counts, deaths or hospitalisation, relying instead on media and private reports. Mr Biden said on Monday that the result of a delay in coordinated planning for the distribution of a vaccine was that "more people may die" from the virus.
Those at the briefing included Mr Biden's longtime foreign policy aide Antony Blinken, a former deputy secretary of state and a possible pick to be his national security adviser, and his transition team's director of foreign policy Avril Haines, a former deputy at the Central Intelligence Agency.
It included retired general Lloyd Austin, the first African American commander of the military's Central Command; Ms Carmen Middleton, a former No.
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