It's not surprising that America is tearing itself apart if politicians at the top are behaving as described below.
The White House appears to be trying to sabotage the Biden administration not only by keeping the Biden team from information it needs, but by tying its hands and slowing it down. The day after the election, the Trump administration proposed a new rule requiring the new Department of Health and Human Services appointees to review most of the departmentās regulations by 2023. It would automatically kill any that havenāt been reviewed by then. This would mean that, just as the new administration is trying to fight the coronavirus, it would be slammed with administrative paperwork. The departmentās chief of staff denies the unusual move is political, saying that a review is necessary because one hasnāt been done for 40 years.
Now that the transition process has finally started, Trump loyalists are blocking meetings, or sitting in on them to monitor what is being said, especially at the Environmental Protection Agency. At Voice of America, Trumpās appointed head, Michael Pack, has refused to give meetings or records to Bidenās team. For their part, Bidenās transition folks are avoiding fights in order to get whatever information they can.
Republican senators are also signaling that they intend to delay confirmations on Bidenās nominees, although in the past 95% of Cabinet nominees have had hearings before an inauguration, and 84% of those were approved within three days. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), for example, questioned the experience of Bidenās nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. Becerra is the Attorney General of California, and he sat on the House Committee on Ways and Means, which oversees health issues, during his 24 years in Congress. āI donāt know what his Health and Human Services credentials are,ā Cornyn told The Hill. Itās not like [Trumpās HHS Secretary] Alex Azar, who worked for pharma and had a health care background.ā - Heather Cox Richardson, a political historian
Confirmation delays
Despite being nominated promptly during the transition period, most cabinet members were unable to take office on Inauguration Day because of delays in the formal confirmation process. By February 8, 2017, President Trump had fewer cabinet nominees confirmed than any prior president two weeks into his mandate, except George Washington.[98][99] Part of the lateness was ascribed to opposition by Senate Democrats and part to delays in submitting background-check paperwork.[100] The last Cabinet member, Robert Lighthizer, took office as U.S. Trade Representative on May 11, 2017, more than four months after his nomination
Hello. I don't even live in America, and I don't know exactly what goes on at the White House. Still, I think the point Richardson is making is that the transition process has "deliberately" been delayed, caused by those who are blocking meetings and refusing to share information. I don't know on what basis she knows that the delay is deliberate - being a political historian as such, I assume that she's done her homework.