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Harris Vows to Control Pandemic, Restore U.S. Leadership on World Stage
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November 24, 2020
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4:36Now PlayingJoe Biden on Tuesday introduced the team of foreign policy experts he plans to nominate to his administration, led by Antony Blinken as secretary of state, as the president-elect seeks to calm international relations after a tumultuous four years under President Donald Trump.
The appointees, all experienced in their fields, will work with Biden on his goal of restoring U.S. relations with international organizations that Trump spurned in his “America First” approach to foreign policy. Biden has promised to seek multilateral approaches to common problems like climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and arms control.
Biden said it was “a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it.”
“The team meets the moment,” he said. “I’ve been struck by how much they’re looking forward to the United States reasserting its role” as a world leader.
A former deputy secretary of state in Barack Obama’s administration, Blinken will be tasked with rebuilding an agency hollowed out by a loss of top diplomats under Trump while reassuring longtime allies of the U.S. commitment to international relationships.
Biden also named former Hillary Clinton aide Jake Sullivan as national security adviser and veteran foreign service officer Linda Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the United Nations.
For his director of national intelligence, Biden has selected Avril Haines, a former top CIA official with years of experience in the espionage community who would fill a job that Trump had largely reserved for people better known for their loyalty to him.
And as homeland security secretary, the president-elect has picked Alejandro Mayorkas, a former head of Citizenship and Immigration Services who would become the first Latino and immigrant to lead an agency that has played a central role in Trump’s widely criticized border crackdown. Mayorkas also served as deputy secretary of the department.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who served under Obama, will be named climate envoy, a move to highlight Biden’s commitment to the issue.
Biden has close relationships with Blinken, who is 58, and Sullivan, 43, who served stints as advisers on national security when he was vice president and worked with his campaign.
Secretary of state is regarded as one of the most prestigious cabinet posts and is fourth in line for the presidency. Serving as the nation’s top diplomat, Blinken will meet directly with foreign leaders around the world and will fill an especially important job for Biden, the former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
National security adviser is a key post in the White House, serving as the gatekeeper of information from dozens of experts in military, diplomatic and intelligence agencies. UN ambassador is also an important post, serving as the voice of the administration on major global issues.
Notably absent from the list is a nominee for defense secretary. Former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy has been long discussed as a favorite for the job, but the Biden transition has not released a name.
In an essay in Foreign Affairs magazine earlier this year, Biden laid out a blueprint for “diplomacy as the United States’ principal tool of foreign policy,” laying out a process-oriented approach that would lean on “experienced and empowered professionals.”
In a tweet Monday, Blinken said the messages from friends and colleagues since it became public that he would be nominated “have been humbling,” and that he would take on the role “with my full heart.”
In similar posts, Sullivan wrote that he would “do everything in my power to keep our country safe,” while Thomas-Greenfield said she would “work to restore America’s standing in the world and renew relationships with our allies.”
A graduate of Harvard and Columbia law School, Blinken worked for Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his 2008 presidential campaign. After advising Biden as vice president, he served as deputy secretary of state and later co-founded WestExec Advisors, a political strategy firm.
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