Team Trump

President-elect Donald Trump arrives for a roundtable

accompanied by Howard Lutnick in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on Oct. 18. | Evan Vucci/AP

Ready, Fire, Aim comes to mind as Team Trump's having trouble doing due diligence to enable incoming cabinet heads to communicate with the various agencies they are supposed to run thanks to Agent Orange refusing the sign the standard set of ethics and transparency agreements every president has done since the beginning of time. 

To whit

Advisers to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reached out to the Health and Human Services Department multiple times after Donald Trump tapped him to lead the massive agency, hoping to jumpstart coordination before his takeover in late January. They were rebuffed.

Kennedy’s inability to communicate with the agency he may soon manage, confirmed by an administration official with knowledge of the episodes granted anonymity to describe internal deliberations, is just one consequence of the president-elect’s continued foot-dragging on signing the standard trio of ethics and transparency agreements with the federal government — something his team pledged to do shortly after the election.

The Trump transition’s unprecedented delay in signing the agreements has so far prevented the incoming administration from having any formal contact with federal agencies, including sending in groups of policy advisers known as “landing teams.” It also means they can’t access cybersecurity support or secure email servers for transition-related work, or request FBI background checks for their nominees.

As someone fairly well versed in designing communications systems for clients back in the day, the actions taken by Trump, thus far, are not only short sighted but also puts the country at risk because the aforementioned cabinet heads will not have a clue in running their departments because they haven't been given the time needed to learn what makes said environments tick in any way shape or fashion. 

Do you think Apple Computer, Bloomberg or Space X operate like this? 

Without the agreements in place, Trump’s team can’t access any non-public government data — depriving it of a full view of efforts the White House and federal agencies are taking to safeguard against a range of threats. That includes classified elements of the administration’s involvement in conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and details of high-level conversations with allies. The stalemate has also left the Trump transition largely in the dark on threats closer to home that could quickly mushroom into crises, like the continued spread of avian flu.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s inability to communicate with the HHS is just one consequence of the president-elect’s continued foot-dragging on signing the standard trio of ethics and transparency agreements with the federal government. | Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

A dumpster fire in the making looms.