The Trump administration’s political appointees are sitting in on transition meetings in several government agencies—a move one former Obama administration official said was “the equivalent of having the opposing coach sitting in the room as you’re developing your team’s strategy.” While it’s not unheard-of for political appointees to be part of transition meetings, the process is usually handled by career civil servants. And this is not a normal transition, either. Trump’s allies have blocked transition meetings in some agencies and intimidated staff from speaking frankly in others, The New York Times reports. At the Environmental Protection Agency, political appointees have joined almost every meeting between career staff and President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team. At the National Security Agency, Biden’s team was only allowed in this week. And at the United States Agency for Global Media, the Trump-loving leader is refusing to cooperate altogether.