CNN
—
Some of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet members and top national security officials are expected to meet with President Joe Biden’s National Security Council at the White House on Wednesday to explain how the U.S. government is responding to a range of threats and scenarios for internal security, according to four sources. familiar with the subject, told CNN.
Among those expected to attend the meeting in the White House Situation Room, one of the sources said, are Trump’s picks for secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security and State: Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem and Marco Rubio. A second source confirmed that Hegseth is expected to attend.
The teams will meet as the U.S. government faces multiple challenges, at home and abroad, that demand the attention of the National Security Council, including deadly fires in Los Angeles and efforts to achieve a ceasefire the Israel-Hamas war. There are also new concerns in the United States over terrorism after a man drove his truck into New Year’s revelers in New Orleans earlier this month, killing 14 people and hurting more.
Participants in Wednesday’s Situation Room meeting are expected to discuss U.S. policy options for responding to real-world scenarios based on the current threat environment, one of the sources said.
CNN has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.
The National Security Council is “hosting a Homeland Security Director Tabletop Exercise, to be chaired by (Homeland Security Advisor) Liz Sherwood-Randall, to implement the President’s directive to ensure career transition for ensuring the security of the homeland,” an NSC spokesperson told CNN.
Such meetings between incoming and outgoing administrations are typical as a new slate of U.S. officials get briefed on portfolios ranging from counterterrorism to transnational crime and public health. When the Obama administration handed over to the Trump team in late 2016 and 2017, officials participated in scenarios of a contagious disease outbreak — an example that Obama officials later highlighted when the outbreak of Covid started during the first Trump administration.
Hegseth faced a contentious confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. Confirmation hearings for Noem and Rubio are scheduled for later this week. The Senate has yet to vote on any of Trump’s Cabinet picks.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said Tuesday that he and Mike Waltz, Trump’s chosen national security adviser, “spent a lot of time together” to make sure the next administration is briefed on the immediate problems and “long-term trends”. » having an impact on national security.
Appearing alongside Sullivan at a U.S. Institute of Peace event on Tuesday, Waltz said the U.S. southern border will be among the top national security challenges of the first six months of the second Trump administration.
Waltz also praised the duo’s coordination and the need for a smooth transition. “At the end of the day,” he said, “we are all Americans and we are sending a message to our adversaries: Don’t you dare try to take advantage of this time.” »
The National Security Council is headed by the National Security Advisor and is composed of both dedicated staff and individuals from various federal agencies. Waltz promised to wholesale replace the current NSC staff with personnel deemed loyal to Trump and his agenda.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.