World News – USA – Joe Biden will bring John Kerry and Janet Yellen to the top of his cabinet

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden won veterans of the Obama administration for top positions in national security on Monday, signaling a clear departure from the Trump administration’s « America First » policy, international alliances Disparaged, professional diplomats and other seasoned government officials.

The six tips, including former Secretary of State John Kerry, mark a return to a more traditional approach to America’s relations with the rest of the world and reflect Biden’s election promise that his cabinet should reflect America’s diversity.

In selecting foreign policy veterans, Biden appears to have sought to exacerbate President Donald Trump’s war against the so-called deep state, in which senior and middle-class career officials emigrated from the government, particularly from the ranks of the State Department and the National Security Council, including some who were sacked for speaking out against the President’s moves.

Biden will appoint his longtime advisor Antony Blinken as Secretary of State, lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas as Minister of Homeland Security and Linda Thomas-Greenfield as Ambassador to the United Nations. Avril Haines, a former deputy director of the CIA, is named director of the National Intelligence Service, the first woman to hold the post.

The new president will appoint Jake Sullivan as his national security advisor and Kerry as his envoy on climate change. These bodies do not require confirmation by the Senate.

The decisions reflect Biden’s focus on developing a diverse team with Thomas-Greenfield, a black woman, at the helm of the U.. S.. . Mission to the United Nations and Mayorkas, a Cuban-American attorney who will become the first Latino to head Homeland Security.

Biden is also expected to appoint Janet Yellen, former chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, as Treasury Secretary, the first woman to hold the office. This comes from a person who is familiar with Biden’s plans and has spoken to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss them.

They « are experienced, crisis-tested executives who are ready to take the first step on day one, » read a statement from the transition. “These officials will work immediately to rebuild our institutions, renew and redefine American leadership to keep Americans safe at home and abroad, and address the crucial challenges of our time – from infectious diseases to terrorism to proliferation from nuclear weapons, cyber threats to climate change. ”

On the announcements, Biden made plans to fill out his administration even if Trump refuses to admit defeat in November. 3 Wahl, has pursued unfounded legal challenges in several key states and worked to obstruct the transition process.

The stakes for a smooth transition are particularly high this year as Biden will take office amid the worst pandemic in more than a century, which containment is likely to require a full government response.

« If this is confirmed, this is a mission I will wholeheartedly take on, » said Blinken, who would take over the country’s oldest cabinet agency and finish fourth for the presidency.

Thomas-Greenfield – for more than 30 years professional diplomat, Ambassador to Liberia, Director General of the Foreign Service and Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs before he was evicted early in Trump’s presidency – paid tribute to her mother by accepting the nomination.

« My mom taught me how to lead with the power of kindness and compassion to make the world a better place, » she said in a tweet. « I’ve taken this lesson with me throughout my career in the Foreign Service – and, if confirmed, I will do the same as the Ambassador to the United Nations. « . ”

Most famous among them is Kerry, who made climate change a top priority while serving as Secretary of State for Obama. During this time he also negotiated the Iranian nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement. Trump withdrew from both agreements, representing a failure of American diplomacy in a direct shot at Kerry, whom he described as the worst foreign secretary in U.. S.. . history.

« America will soon have a government that sees the climate crisis as its urgent national security threat, » said Kerry. « I am proud to work with the president-elect, our allies and the young leaders of the climate movement to address this crisis as the president’s climate commissioner. « . ”

Sullivan, who will be one of the youngest national security advisers in history at 43, was a top advisor to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before becoming the national security adviser to then Vice President Biden. He said the president-elect “taught me what it takes to ensure our national security at the highest levels of our government. ”

« Now he’s asked me to act as his national security advisor, » Sullivan said. “In the service I will do everything in my power to protect our country. ”

Mayorkas said he was humbled by the nomination. « When I was very young, the United States was a haven for my family and me, » he said. “I have now been named DHS Secretary, overseeing the protection of all Americans and those fleeing persecution to find better lives for themselves and their loved ones. ”

Blinken, 58, was Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy National Security Advisor during the Obama administration and has close ties with Biden. If this were confirmed, he would be a leading force in the incoming administration offer to redesign the U.. S.. . Relationship with the rest of the world after four years of Trump questioning longstanding alliances.

Blinken recently attended a national safety briefing with Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, and just last week spoke publicly on important foreign policy issues in Egypt and Ethiopia.

Blinken will inherit a severely demoralized and exhausted workforce at the State Department. Trump’s two state secretaries, Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo, offered weak opposition to government attempts to core the agency, which were only thwarted by the intervention of Congress.

Although the division has escaped massive proposed cuts to its budget of more than 30% for three consecutive years, it has seen a significant number of exits from its higher and rising middle ranks, many of whom diplomats have chosen to retire or Leave the overseas service as you have limited prospects of advancement in an administration that you believed did not value their expertise.

Blinken served on the National Security Council during President Bill Clinton’s tenure before becoming Chief of Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Biden was chairman of the panel. In the early years of the Obama administration, Blinken returned to NSC, then serving as Vice President Biden’s national security adviser before moving to the State Department to serve as Kerry’s deputy.

A graduate of Harvard University and Columbia Law School, Blinken has joined numerous former senior national security officials who have called for a full reinvestment in American diplomacy and a renewed emphasis on global engagement.

« Democracy is on the decline all over the world, and unfortunately it is also on the decline at home because the president brings two times four to his institutions, his values ​​and his people every day, » Blinken told him in September the AP. “Our friends know that Joe Biden knows who they are. So do our opponents. That difference would be noticeable on the first day. ”

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Joe Biden, US Treasury Department