By: Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould
WASHINGTON — One week after the nation voted to elect Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the transition appears to have hit a speedbump, one which has foreign allies raising concerns.
On Monday, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said the Trump transition team had not yet moved into the Pentagon, adding he expected them to arrive sometime this week.
“We’re ready to help them and help the transition team get started,” Carter said. “I am committed to an orderly transition to our new commander in chief, President-elect Trump. That is something all of my predecessors my entire life have done [and] we’re going to do it to that standard, we’re going to do it warmly and we’re going to do it to the best of our ability.”
But there are signs that the transition is off to a rocky start, less than one week after Trump became president-elect.
On Friday, Trump reportedly deposed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the head of the transition in favor of Vice President-elect Mike Pence. However, The New York Times reported Tuesday that Pence has been unable to take charge, as he has yet to sign legal documents required to allow the transition team to begin working with the aides of President Barack Obama.
Until those documents are signed and a transition team formally announced, Trump's team is legally barred from reaching out to DoD or other agencies. A Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday that the Trump team has yet to reach out to the building, with Carter Chief of Staff Eric Rosenbach standing by waiting for the call.
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