Biden to appoint Antony Blinken as secretary of state

Blinken, 58, is a major contributor to Democrats’ foreign policy and was already number two in the State Department under Barack Obama when Biden was Vice President.

US President-elect Joe Biden plans to appoint veteran diplomat Antony Blinken as his secretary of state, a decision that could signal a return to multilateralism after Donald Trump distances himself from the US giant’s traditional allies, local media reported. . this Sunday.

“Tuesday this week will see the first election of the president-elect for his cabinet,” his chief of staff, Ron Klain, told ABC This Week on Sunday.

Blinken, 58, is one of the Democrats’ top foreign policy contributors and was already number two in the State Department under Barack Obama when Biden was Vice President.

The Washington Post and other media reported that the position of National Security Advisor will go to Jake Sullivan, another Biden veteran.

The US press indicated that Biden chose Linda Thomas-Greenfield, head of Africa at the State Department during the Obama presidency, for the post of ambassador to the UN.

If confirmed by the Senate, Blinken would replace Mike Pompeo, whose frontline priorities in US diplomacy included an uncompromising relationship with China and containment of Iran.

Blinken’s appointment as secretary of state could help reassure traditional allies of US power, sidelined – and sometimes insulted – by Trump.

Who is Blinken

Blinken, a committed Europhile, born in New York, went to high school in Paris, where his stepfather, a Holocaust survivor, practiced law and later worked as a lawyer in France.

Biden will appoint his first elect to his government team on Tuesday, according to his chief of staff, although Trump continues with his allegations of fraud without evidence despite growing opposition within his own party.

The Democrat continued his preparations to take over the presidency on January 20, regardless of Trump’s attempts to contest the November 3 election results.

Klain did not want to specify, however, which positions Biden will announce, although Biden himself said last week that he has already decided who will hold the key position of Treasury secretary.

The US media also indicated that Biden has chosen Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who was in charge of Africa at the State Department during Barack Obama’s presidency, for the post of ambassador to the United Nations.

A growing number of Republicans have already recognized Biden’s victory, or at least urged the General Services Administration – a usually low-key agency dealing with federal bureaucracy – to release the transition funds.

With Trump refusing to acknowledge the election result, Biden and his best advisors have been denied information on sensitive domestic and foreign policy issues and, more urgently, on the coronavirus pandemic afflicting the country.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who advised Trump on the transition in 2016, told ABC that the president’s legal team was a “national disgrace.”

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, another prominent Republican, told CNN that Trump was making the country look like a “banana republic.” Later, he tweeted that the president should “stop playing golf and concede” the victory to Biden.

Liz Cheney, the third Republican in the House of Representatives, said that if Trump’s lawyers cannot prove the fraud allegations, the president should “respect the sanctity of the electoral process.”

Even lawmaker Devin Nunes, a fervent Trump supporter, indirectly admitted on Fox News that Biden had run a “successful campaign from a basement.”

‘Without merit’

Trump tweeted again on Sunday about “huge amounts of fraudulent ballot”, a request rejected by a long line of judges in various states.

The appearances of Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, were ridiculed, as were the claims of another member of his legal team, Sidney Powell.

Powell has backed unfounded conspiracy theories about a possible election hack, earning widespread mockery as well as praise from some of Trump’s most vocal supporters.

Giuliani announced Sunday that Powell was not on the president’s team.

Trump’s latest legal setback came on Saturday, when a Pennsylvania judge dismissed the president’s fraud allegations.

Judge Matthew Brann wrote that the Trump team’s demands on the mail-order vote were based on “speculative allegations”.

His ruling paved the way for Pennsylvania to certify Biden’s victory in the state.

Biden got 306 votes and Trump, 232, from Electoral College, the body that decides who sits in the White House.

The constituency must formally vote on December 14, and state certifications must be done in advance.