It's reportedly a bad idea to even mention the name 'Biden' near certain administration officials

Robert O'Brien.
(Image credit: Andressa Anholete/Getty Images)

Privately, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien is open about President Trump losing the election and the need to start a transition with President-elect Joe Biden, one official told The Daily Beast, but he won't say anything about the matter to Trump's face.

Multiple officials told The Daily Beast that O'Brien has been enabling Trump and his refusal to concede the election. He has urged national security staffers to go along with Trump's false claims about widespread voter fraud, the officials said. O'Brien has also spent the last several months complaining about Mark Esper, who Trump fired as defense secretary earlier this week, and he has supported Trump installing loyalists in top Pentagon positions.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.