The [transition official] team is particularly concerned that they do not have sufficient visibility into what’s going on in Africa, whether it's covert special operations missions across the continent or Trump’s withdrawal from Somalia.
EDITED to ADD:
I must add that the Politico article mentioned on this comment thread was published on the Jan 20, and (by standard procedure) on the Jan 19, Ms. Seligman most likely verified + cleared the quotes on said article with the related personnels & lines.
And,
Jan 22, 2021 -- New Defense Secretary Arrives at Pentagon, Convenes COVID Meeting
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III arrived at the Pentagon today and hit the ground running, greeting the senior staff and then immediately heading into meetings on combating the coronavirus.
The Senate confirmed Austin at 11 a.m. [on Jan 22]; the vote was 93-2. He arrived at the Pentagon around noon and was "administratively sworn in" soon afterward.
So, it's technically still a transition period, because the new secretary was just administratively sworn in today. And he will need to make directives and/or to replace Pentagon bureaucrats with his people. Then, he'll get to what was discussed in the Politico article.
Here's the quote from the Politico article:
EDITED to ADD:
I must add that the Politico article mentioned on this comment thread was published on the Jan 20, and (by standard procedure) on the Jan 19, Ms. Seligman most likely verified + cleared the quotes on said article with the related personnels & lines.
And,
Jan 22, 2021 -- New Defense Secretary Arrives at Pentagon, Convenes COVID Meeting
https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2480314/new-defense-secretary-arrives-at-pentagon-convenes-covid-meeting/
So, it's technically still a transition period, because the new secretary was just administratively sworn in today. And he will need to make directives and/or to replace Pentagon bureaucrats with his people. Then, he'll get to what was discussed in the Politico article.