Biden and Harris attend unofficial security briefing due to Trump blocking power transition

Donald Trump's refusal to cooperate with Joe Biden's transition team has not stopped the president-elect from holding security briefings and laying the groundwork for his eventual ascension to power.  

On Tuesday, Mr Biden and Kamala Harris met with national security experts for an unofficial briefing on the state of important government agencies in the wake of Mr Trump's presidency.  

The group included intelligence officials, diplomats and defense experts drawn from former advisers to Barack Obama as well as individuals who have left the Trump administration and have chosen to cooperate with Mr Biden.  

The meeting was "unofficial" because Mr Biden has not yet been certified by the General Services Administration as the winner of the 2020 election. Democrats - and some Republicans - have put pressure on the GSA to certify Mr Biden as the president-elect so that he can begin the transition process and be included in briefings.  

Sen. James Lankford, a Republican, said that he would step in if the GSA did not certify Mr Biden, and claimed there was nothing wrong with the former vice president getting the briefings. 

"There is no loss from him getting the briefings and to be able to do that. And if that's not occurring by Friday, I will step in as well and to be able to push them and say this needs to occur, so that regardless of the outcome of the election, whichever way that it goes, people can be ready for that actual task," Mr Lankford told KRMG Radio in Tulsa.  

Emily Murphy, the head of the GSA and a Trump appointee, has the power to decide when an election's results have made it clear that a transition in power is going to take place. Without her acknowledgement that Mr Trump lost the election, Mr Biden cannot begin the transition process.  

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told Politico that delaying an incoming president's access to briefings hurts not just the opposition, but the entire country.  

“You lose a lot if the transition is delayed because the new people are not allowed to get their head in the game. The president, with all due respect, does not have to concede," Mr Kelly said. "But it’s about the nation. It hurts our national security.”

He said transitions take time and that it is not "a process where you go from zero to 1,000 miles per hour."

ABC News reported that Ms Murray - despite refusing to trigger the transition for Mr Biden's team - is looking for a new job.

According to the story, Ms Murray has reached out to associates via her email to inquire about employment opportunities for 2021.  

When ABC News reached out to the GSA for comment, they denied Ms Murphy was searching for another job, but said even if she was, it was a normal thing for government appointees to do.  

Congressional Democrats have considered bringing Ms Murphy to Capitol Hill to explain why she refuses to begin the transition process.