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President-elect Joe Biden formally presented his first round of cabinet nominations on Tuesday, a move widely hailed as a restoration of old Washington and international order following the Trump administration turmoil.
Biden has also softened criticism from progressives on his left flank by emphasizing diversity and fighting the climate crisis, although the Democratic party’s internal rifts are far from healed.
Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday, the president-elect said, “It’s a team that reflects the fact that America is back. Ready to lead the world, not to withdraw from it. Once again sit at the head of the table, ready to face our opponents and not repel our allies. Ready to defend our values. “
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris added, “When Joe asked me to be his running mate, he told me about his commitment to making sure we have selected a government that looks like America – that reflects the best of our nation. This is what we did. “
Biden said that in John Kerry, a former secretary of state and presidential candidate, America would for the first time have a full-time climate leader, someone with “a seat at every table in the world.” Biden also said the 2004 candidate, “one of my closest friends,” would “speak for America about one of the most prescient threats of our time. None I trust more.”
The former vice president spoke at a blue lectern labeled “President-elect’s Office” on a stage with a coordinating blue background. He promised to restore America’s global and moral leadership by ensuring that service personnel and diplomats are “free from politics”.
He added: “Not only will they fix, but they will also reimagine American foreign policy and national security for the next generation.”
Biden was starting a new phase in his transition after the federal government finally recognized him as the “apparent winner” of the November 3 election, granting access to office space, intelligence briefings and millions of dollars in funding.
Trump, who spent weeks falsely claiming that the elections were marred by voter fraud, offered support for the move, effectively forgoing his lengthy offer to overturn the outcome, though he still refused to formally concede. He spoke to reporters in the White House on Tuesday, touting stock market gains but without answering questions.
Biden tweeted: “The election is over. It is time to put aside partisanship and rhetoric aimed at demonizing each other. We must unite. “
There could hardly have been a greater contrast between Trump’s disjointed and extravagant selection of four years ago, favoring businessmen, TV actors, and his own family, and what Politico called Biden’s “careerist revenge.”
The new foreign policy and national security team is steeped in Washington’s experience, especially Obama administration alumni. Biden’s trusted aide Antony Blinken, called to head the State Department, told Wilmington Tuesday that America needs to move forward with humility and confidence.
“We can’t solve all the world’s problems alone,” he said. “We have to work with other countries”. But he added: “America, at its best, still has a greater capacity than any other country on earth to bring others together to meet the challenges of our time.”
Jake Sullivan will serve as National Security Advisor while Linda Thomas-Greenfield is named ambassador to the United Nations. Avril Haines, former CIA deputy director, will become the first woman to be director of national intelligence if confirmed.
Biden reportedly plans to make Janet Yellen the first female secretary in the 231-year history of the US treasury. He led the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018.
Brendan Buck, former adviser to former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, tweeted: “These Biden appointments and appointments are so delightfully boring.”
Some fear that Biden’s advisers will return to the Washington policies and ways that fueled Trump’s rise. But Jenna Ben-Yehuda, president of the Truman Center, a foreign policy institute of which Sullivan is a board member, told the Washington Post: “I think it would be a mistake to say that just because these are names we know it is going to be a repetition of the policies we have seen.
“These are smart people who have seen the world change under Trump.”
Biden is well on his way to building the most diverse US government, including women and people of color.
Alejandro Mayorkas, who has been appointed Secretary of National Security, is a Cuban American. MP Pramila Jayapal, a prominent House progressive, tweeted: “This is a very strong and smart choice. Mayorkas personally knows what it means to be an immigrant, like me and tens of millions across our country. He … will help us push through a humane immigration reform and bring humanity back to DHS. “
Activists on the left praised Kerry. Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executive director of the Sunrise Movement, said: “I have worked alongside Secretary Kerry in the Biden-Sanders climate task force and I know he is committed to engaging and listening to young voices, even when we may not. always agreeing – and making sure we have a seat at the table. “
But Prakash added: “What’s the point of engaging in diplomacy abroad if we don’t do everything we can at home? The next White House must also include a national counterpart reporting directly to the president to lead a Climate Mobilization Office, which can organize, convene and push federal agencies, departments, states and local governments, industry and civil society to use every tool. at their disposal to tackle the climate crisis “.
Critics said Trump’s refusal to accept defeat undermined U.S. democracy and undermined the next administration’s ability to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday evening, Emily Murphy, chief of general services administration, said she would formally acknowledge the transition. Under mounting pressure from his own party, Trump said he backed Murphy, but vowed to continue fighting the election results “at full speed”. He added that “he would never have conceded”.
Biden won 306 to 232 electoral votes and holds a lead of over 6 million in the popular vote. There is no evidence of irregularity in an election that the Department of Homeland Security has described as the safest in U.S. history.
Biden candidates wore masks on Tuesday that they removed when they spoke. Thomas-Greenfield said: “America is back. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is back. “
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