Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Thursday said that he believes President-elect Joe Biden should have access to classified briefings to allow him to prepare to take office.
The remarks were first reported by CNN’s Manu Raju.
“I would think – especially on classified briefings – the answer is yes,” Grassley said.
Grassley pointed to the contested 2000 election as a model for how the Trump administration should proceed in officially recognizing Biden’s transition team.
The senator stuck to his answer after being reminded that the shortened transition time in 2000 may have contributed to the lack of preparation for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Earlier this week, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma also said that he would take action if Biden was not given access to classified briefings by Friday.
Read Raju’s tweets below.
New - Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is the most senior Republican in the Senate, told me that President-elect Joe Biden should have access to classified briefings to prepare for the transition.
“I would think - especially on classified briefings - the answer is yes,” Grassley said.— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 12, 2020
Asked about the 9/11 report that warned that the shortened transition period contributed to the lack of preparedness, Grassley said: “Well, I still would just stick by what I said whatever was done in 2000 ought to be done again.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 12, 2020
