President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team made its first cabinet-level announcements today, with an emphasis on foreign policy, diplomacy, intelligence, and national security. His statement read in part:
“These individuals are equally as experienced and crisis-tested as they are innovative and imaginative. Their accomplishments 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 unchanged habits — or without diversity of background and perspective. It’s why I’ve selected them.”
While Senate confirmation remains an open question, one of the things that immediately jumps out when reviewing Biden’s list is just how dramatically different the incoming team will be from Donald Trump’s foreign policy operation.
Secretary of State: Biden will nominate Antony Blinken, a former Deputy Secretary of State, a former deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama, a former National Security Council staffer under President Clinton, and a former staff director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Trump’s first choice for Secretary of State was Rex Tillerson, an oil executive with no experience in U.S. foreign policy.
Homeland Security Secretary: Biden will nominate Alejandro Mayorkas, a former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the former director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and a former federal prosecutor.
United Nations Ambassador: Biden will nominate former Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service. Trump’s first choice for United Nations Ambassador was Nikki Haley, who had no experience in U.S. foreign policy.
Special Presidential Envoy for Climate: Biden will appoint former Secretary of State John Kerry, who’ll serve on the National Security Council. Under Team Trump, the climate crisis has been ignored.
Director of National Intelligence: Biden will nominate Avril Haines, a former Deputy Director of the CIA and Deputy National Security Advisor. She’ll replace John Ratcliffe, who was literally unqualified for the position before Senate Republicans confirmed him anyway.
White House National Security Advisor: Biden will appoint Jake Sullivan, a State Department veteran and Biden’s National Security Advisor during his vice presidency. Trump’s first White House National Security Advisor was an agent for a foreign government, who ended up facing felony charges after lying to the FBI about his interactions with Russia.









