"I don't think they are ready for prime-time"

Staffers at the most senior levels, including in the White House and at federal agencies, have met with their incoming counterparts. Deeper into the hierarchy, however, there’s been little contact between the staffers currently operating the levers of government and the team who takes over when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in at noon on January 20.

“I don’t think they are ready for prime-time,” said a longtime Obama administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe concerns about the state of the transition.

“They are not ready,” said a Republican who is close to Trump’s transition…

At a White House function Monday for Obama aides who have served for all eight years of the administration, senior officials were heard wondering aloud whether to expect any contact from the Trump administration before they packed their desks and vacated their offices.

“People running major offices in the White House currently have had no contact with their successors,” said one person who attended the function. “It is stunning. And we always kept thinking they’re going to have a plan, they’re going to come through at the last minute. We’re less than 48 hours away. This should be concerning to anyone.”