If I were Biden or a key team member, I would certainly operate under the assumption that I would be getting zero assistance from the Trump administration. In fact, I would probably have a team assigned to thinking up all the ways the outgoing administration could actively sabotage the incoming, and start gaming out solutions/counters/tactics to deal with that scenario. I think this transition is one of those times when, with every decision, you have to assume that the worst possible thing will happen.
That and trying to figure out how to cover up crimes.
According to the NYT: “The General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said today that ‘damage, theft, vandalism and pranks did occur in the White House complex’ in the presidential transition from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush. The agency put the cost at $13,000 to $14,000, including $4,850 to replace computer keyboards, many with damaged or missing W keys.”
But,
“The accounting office said similar pranks were reported in prior transitions, including the one from Mr. Bush’s father to Mr. Clinton in 1993. ‘We were unable to conclude,’ it said, ‘whether the 2001 transition was worse than previous ones.’”
And somehow I doubt this will happen:
“To minimize damage in future transitions, the accounting office said, the government should inspect office space, furniture and equipment of departing White House employees and penalize those who willfully deface federal property.”
Interesting article about the perils Biden is likely to encounter if he wins:
As I recall Trump didn’t even want to have a transition team, until somebody pointed that when the press got hold of it, it would be “See, even Trump doesn’t think he’ll win - he hasn’t even bothered to organise a transition team.”
I think the reason that Biden’s doing setting up his transition team appears to be more publicized than other candidates is that up until 2016 it was just taken for granted. Its only after the current occupant botched the job so badly that it Biden doing this is worthy of note.
The headline, “New head of Astronomy department believes the world is round” tells you more about the previous head than the current one.
Getting the word out on how prepared he’ll be also is on message for Biden. I mean, he’s all about being competent, prepared, and having sane plans. Showing that he’ll be prepared to start executing better policies immediately helps sell that message.