Politico | Joe Biden will nominate Antony Blinken as secretary of state
- President-elect Joe Biden to unveil first cabinet picks
- Antony Blinken is a long-time Biden confidant
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Natasha Korecki, Natasha Bertrand and Nahal Toosi on politico.com on November 22, 2020.
US President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate long-time adviser and veteran foreign policy hand Antony Blinken to serve as his secretary of state, while picking another confidant, Jake Sullivan, for the role of national security adviser, according to three people familiar with the issue.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a veteran diplomat, will be nominated to serve as Biden’s ambassador to the United Nations, according to two people familiar with the nomination discussions.
The choices would put three highly experienced officials at the helm of US foreign policy. Even some notable conservative voices praised the three choices Sunday evening as news of their selection broke.
Blinken, 58, is considered a moderate who is well regarded by foreign diplomats and can pass muster with Republicans in the Senate, where he will have to seek confirmation. At the same time, he’s served as an intermediary for Biden and members of the progressive community, engaging the latter on their demands for what a Biden foreign policy will look like.