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President-elect Joe Biden announced a number of key Cabinet appointments on Monday, including Antony Blinken as Secretary of State, Alejandro Mayorkas as Homeland Security Secretary and Avril Haines as the first woman to lead the community intelligence, among other positions.
Biden also announced former Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and will serve on the National Security Council – the first time the NSC will include a dedicated climate change official.
Biden also announced that Jake Sullivan would serve as the White House’s national security adviser, making him one of the youngest people to hold the post in decades; and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who will be appointed United Nations Ambassador.
“We have no time to waste when it comes to our national security and our foreign policy. I need a team ready from day one to help me reclaim America’s place at the head of the table, rally the world to tackle the biggest challenges we face and move forward. our security, our prosperity and our values. It’s the heart of this team, ”Biden said in a statement. “These people are just as experienced and tested in a crisis as they are innovative and imaginative.”
He added: “Their achievements in diplomacy are unmatched, but they also reflect the idea that we cannot meet the profound challenges of this new moment with old thinking and habits unchanged – or without a diversity of context and perspective. That’s why I selected them.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also praised the appointments, calling them “crisis-stricken national security and foreign policy leaders” with “the knowledge and expertise to keep our country safe and restore and advance American leadership in the world.
“They represent the best of America. They come from different places and reflect different life experiences, ”said Harris. “But they all share an unshakeable belief in American ideals and an unwavering commitment to democracy and the rule of law. And these are the leaders the United States needs to meet the challenges of the day – and those who lie ahead. “
Blinken has held senior foreign policy positions in two administrations for three decades, according to the Biden transition, and has advised Biden on foreign policy since 2002. Under the Obama administration, Blinken served as deputy and principal secretary of state national security deputy. advisor to former President Obama. During the Obama administration’s first term, Blinken served as Biden’s national security adviser.
FILE – In this Thursday, September 29, 2016, file photo, Assistant Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Syria. Blinken is the leading candidate to become President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, according to several people familiar with the Biden team’s planning. (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana, file)
Meanwhile, Mayorkas is the first Latino and immigrant appointed to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. Mayorkas served as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2016 and Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009 to 2013. During this time Mayorkas led the implementation of the DAC and led the department’s response to Ebola and Zika. .
Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security speaks at the 2015 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Miami Beach, Florida on June 8 2015. REUTERS / Joe Skipper – GF10000120871
Mayorkas began his public service career at the Department of Justice, where he served as the Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, where he specialized in prosecuting white collar crimes.
Moving on to the intelligence community, Haines, if confirmed, would be the first woman to serve as a DNI. During the Obama administration, Haines served as Deputy Senior National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the CIA – she was the first woman to hold both positions.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 14: Avril Haines, former Deputy National Security Advisor and former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on January 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. Haines testified before the committee on the topic “From Sanctions to Soleimani’s Strike to Escalation: Assessment of Administration Policy in Iran.” (Photo by Win McNamee / Getty Images)
Sullivan, Biden’s choice for the White House’s national security adviser, previously served as Obama’s deputy assistant and Biden’s national security adviser in the Obama administration.
“President-elect Biden taught me what it takes to safeguard our national security at the highest levels of our government,” Sullivan tweeted Monday. “Now he has asked me to become his national security adviser. While on duty, I will do everything in my power to keep our country safe.”
And Thomas-Greenfield is a career diplomat who, upon appointment, will return to the public service upon retirement. She served in the Obama administration as deputy secretary in the Office of African Affairs. Her career spans three decades and she has served as Ambassador to Liberia and posted to Switzerland, Pakistan, Kenya, Gambia, Nigeria and Jamaica.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, smiles during an interview with Bloomberg West Television in San Francisco, California, United States, Tuesday, May 31, 2016. Thomas-Greenfield discussed what makes the emerging tech scene in Africa attractive to venture capital. Photographer: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Kerry’s return to Washington comes after serving as Secretary of State, who, according to the transition team, “elevated environmental challenges as diplomatic priorities, from oceans to hydrofluorocarbons.”
“He was one of the main architects of the Paris Climate Agreement and signed the historic agreement to cut carbon emissions with his granddaughter on his lap,” said the transition team.
“America will soon have a government that will treat the climate crisis as an urgent threat to national security,” Kerry said. “I am proud to join the President-elect, our allies and the young leaders of the climate movement in tackling his crisis as the President’s envoy for the climate.”
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