WASHINGTON — The Biden administration kept President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration closely apprised of its efforts to broker the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect early Wednesday, according to the outgoing Democratic administration.
What You Need To Know
- The Biden administration kept President-elect Donald Trump's administration closely apprised of its efforts to broker the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect early Wednesday
- Trump's team, meanwhile, was quick to spike the football and claim that the prospect of the Republican president's return to power pushed the two sides to get an agreement done
- What's certain is that the Biden administration's reported coordination with Trump's team on its efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement is perhaps the highest-profile example of cooperation between their aides in what's been a choppy transition period
Trump's team, meanwhile, was quick to spike the football and claim credit for the rare spot of good news for a Democratic administration that's been dragged down by the grinding Mideast conflict.
"Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump," Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, Trump's choice for his national security adviser, said in a post on X on Tuesday, shortly before the Israel Cabinet signed off on the agreement. "His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won't be tolerated. I'm glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East."
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday confirmed he kept Waltz informed about the negotiations but offered firm pushback on the idea that Trump deserved credit for the long-sought-after deal finally coalescing.
"I would just point out that you know you've done a really good thing when other people take credit for it," Sullivan told CNN on Wednesday.
The Biden administration's coordination with Trump's team on its efforts to forge the ceasefire in Lebanon is perhaps the highest-profile example of cooperation in what's been a sometimes choppy transition period.
Trump's transition team just Tuesday reached a required agreement with President Joe Biden's White House that will allow transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before Trump takes office on Jan. 20. There has been some coordination on high levels between the outgoing Biden and incoming Trump teams, including talks between Sullivan and Waltz.
Biden in Rose Garden remarks on Tuesday cheered the ceasefire agreement as a critical step that he hoped could be the catalyst for a broader peace in the Mideast, which has been shaken by nearly 14 months of war following Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
"This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities," Biden said. "What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed — I emphasize, will not be allowed — to threaten the security of Israel again."
White House officials are now hopeful that a calm in Lebanon will reinvigorate a multi-country effort at finding an endgame to the devastating war in Gaza, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable.
Biden said the U.S., as well as Israel, will engage in talks in the coming days with officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey to try to get Gaza talks back on track.
But during Biden's moment of success in a conflict that has roiled his reputation at home and abroad, the specter of the incoming Trump administration loomed large.
Trump's senior national security team was briefed by the Biden administration as negotiations unfolded and finally came to a conclusion on Tuesday, according to a senior Biden administration official. The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity on a call organized by the White House, added that the incoming Trump administration officials were not directly involved in the talks, but that it was important that they knew "what we were negotiating and what the commitments were."
Trump's team and allies, meanwhile, said there was no doubt that the prospect of the Republican president returning to power pushed both sides to get the agreement done.
Waltz, in addition to giving Trump credit for the ceasefire deal coming together, added a warning to Iran, Hezbollah's chief financial backer.
"But let's be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos & terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism," Waltz said in his post.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, also gave a shoutout to the incoming administration, while giving a nod to Biden's team.