Trump Intelligence Briefing: President-Elect Receiving Fewer Briefings Than Predecessors, Reports Say

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has declined several intelligence briefings offered to him and is allegedly receiving an average of only one briefing per week, reports said Thursday. Vice President-elect Mike Pence, however, has received an average of six briefings a week.

Although not mandatory, Trump’s predecessors opted to receive the President’s Daily Brief (PDF) — the country’s most highly classified document — more frequently, either on a daily or a near-daily basis. It is not clear why Trump has chosen not to follow in their footsteps when it comes to intelligence briefings.

An official on Trump’s transition team reportedly said Thursday that the real estate mogul has been receiving intelligence briefings including “routine” PDFs but did not elaborate on how often or on the content of the briefings.

Another official said Trump had requested at least one briefing on specific subjects. The official refused to specify the subjects that interested Trump but said the briefings he had requested for did not concern Russia or Iran.

Senate Democrats Ben Cardin of Maryland and Dianne Feinstein of California wrote in USA Today of their concerns about Trump’s lack of interest in receiving briefings more frequently. They warned that his “cavalier” attitude to foreign policy could affect the U.S.’ standing as a global superpower.

“Indeed, we find it particularly troubling that President-elect Trump has mostly declined to take the daily intelligence briefing. Presidents and presidents-elect going back decades have begun their day this way — understanding national security threats and opportunities, asking probing questions, and making tough decisions,” the senators wrote in an opinion piece published Thursday.

Cardin, a senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Feinstein, a senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, wrote: “The information and analysis that our intelligence community provides to decision-makers is invaluable for developing a full and nuanced picture of the world. Candidate Trump’s comments on an array of foreign policy issues were disturbing at best and frightening at worst. This conduct cannot become the norm. At stake is America’s role as a global superpower.”

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also admitted he was concerned about Trump not receiving daily briefings.

“He’s taken a few of them, but he's not getting them every day,” Panetta told CBS’ “Face the Nation” last week.

Panetta said a president usually has daily briefings in order to keep himself updated on what is happening around the world.

“So that you have an understanding as to ... what’s happening in the world, what are the crises you have to pay attention to, and what steps do you have to take in order to deal with those crises,” he said.

“Every president I know, and I worked under nine presidents, every one has taken their intelligence daily brief because that sets the agenda for what you have to focus on as president of the United States,” Panetta added.

However, Reince Priebus, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, dismissed reports that the president-elect isn’t getting enough briefings saying they “happening quite frequently.”