Donald Trump's new Pentagon chief STOPS all transition meetings with Joe Biden despite department being under attack from Russian hackers and in charge of vaccine delivery - but he claims it is just a 'holiday pause'

The Pentagon abruptly ceased cooperating with transition-related briefings with the Biden administration – even as the government works to uncover the full extent of a massive cybersecurity breach.

The Defense Department also is playing a key role in distribution of the coronavirus vaccine – as states clamor for more supplies and face life-or-death decisions about who to inoculate first. 

The cessation of briefings shocked Pentagon officials, according to Axios, which reported the change.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller gave the directive to stop providing transition briefings on Thursday, Axios reported

The order came from new acting defense secretary Chris Miller, who took office on Nov. 9 following a purge and the departure of Defense Secretary Mark Esper. No explanation was given as a reason.

It came amid anger at the Pentagon of the leak of information about how many billions in taxpayer dollars could be saved if Biden follows through on his promise to halt construction of southern border wall - Trump's signature proposal.

The Washington Post had provided a detailed readout of potential savings adding up to $2.6 billion. Although the paper did not identify its source of information, it came after a transition meeting with Army Corps of Engineers officials. The Trump administration is known for a series of leaks, so the information did not necessarily come from the Biden camp.  

A senior defense official told the publication it was merely 'a simple delay of the last few scheduled meetings until after the new year' and said the briefers were busy.   

'We had fewer than two dozen remaining meetings on the schedule today and next week,' adding that 'the DoD staff working the meetings were overwhelmed by the number of meetings.'

The Pentagon issued a convoluted statement after the story broke that said denied a stoppage, said the decision was mutual, confirmed a 'holiday' pause starting Saturday, and referenced coronavirus without stating a specific reason for halting briefings.

The new acting Pentagon chief was to meet with President Trump Friday afternoon for a scheduled meeting.

'The Department of Defense will continue to provide all required support to the Agency Review Team to keep our nation and her citizens safe,' Miller said in a statement saying 139 interview sessions had occurred.

'At no time has the Department cancelled or declined any interview. Our key focus in the next two weeks is supporting essential requests for information on Operation Warp and COVID-19 information to guarantee a flawless transition. This is my major focus area,' he said.

'After the mutually-agreed upon holiday pause, which begins tomorrow, we will continue with the transition and rescheduled meetings from today. Again, I remain committed to a full and transparent transition – this is what our nation expects and the DoD will deliver AS IT ALWAYS HAS.'

Government-wide transition matters were postponed by weeks when the Trump-appointed head of the General Services Agency delayed a formal assessment that Joe Biden was the presumed winner of the election.

The Department of Defense has ceased providing transition briefings to officials designated by President-elect Joe Biden  

President Trump oversaw a post-election purge at the Pentagon

Joe Biden's transition already got delayed briefings due to a Trump administration official delaying 'ascertainment' that he won

Officials point to Russia as the source of a government-wide hack

The Electoral College met Monday and made Biden's win official – providing a fraction of the normal time to prepare to hand over the keys to the mammoth U.S. government and its defense apparatus.

President Trump isn't persuaded.

'We won the Presidential Election, by a lot. FIGHT FOR IT. Don’t let them take it away!' he Tweeted in a message to Republicans Friday, where he urged them to 'get tougher.' 

 The timing of the directive, which came down Thursday, coincides with new revelations behind a massive security breach that hit the Pentagon and other agencies. Officials are already pointing the finger at Moscow, which U.S. intelligence concluded interfered in the 2016 elections. 

Trump is also rushing to withdraw U.S. troops from overseas hotspots. And the military is making preparations for its role in getting out the vaccine. 

The official who spoke to Axios made reference to the holidays and a two week delay. That could put the next briefing after New Year's, which could effectively mean Jan. 4 – a bit more than two weeks before Inauguration Day Jan. 20. 

'With the holidays we are taking a knee for two weeks. We are still committed to a productive transition,' said the official. 

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.