“This is a team that keeps our country and our people safe and secure. And this is a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat. Sit at the top of the table once again,” he said. Standing in front of Biden, his candidates and appointees, who were socially isolated on stage.
“The team is meeting this moment, this team is behind me. They embody my basic belief that America is strongest when working with its allies,” Biden said. “Overall, this team has, in recent recollection, provided the most significant national security and diplomatic achievements made possible by decades of experience working with our partners.”
Biden announced several leadership roles on Monday, including the first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community and the first Latino to head the Department of Homeland Security. Avril Haines, a former CIA chief official and deputy national security adviser, and Alejandro Mayorkas, a former DHS deputy secretary, would both make history if confirmed by the Senate.
President-elect also elected Antony Blinken as Secretary of State, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Jake Sullivan as National Security Adviser and John Kerry as Special Envoy for the Presidential Climate.
Blinken Biden’s chief foreign policy aide, served as deputy secretary of state and deputy chief of national security adviser in the Obama administration. Thomas-Greenfield, an African-American woman who has had a long service career, was previously Assistant Secretary of the Office of African Affairs. Sullivan was Biden’s senior political advisor and Biden’s national security advisor when he was vice president and director of political planning at the U.S. State Department. Kerry was Secretary of State to President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017, and in 2004 was a Democratic presidential candidate.
Haines, Mayorkast, Blinken, and Thomas-Greenfield must be ratified by the U.S. Senate, which is currently run by Republicans. On January 5, two Georgian election elections will determine which party controls the chamber and influence the cabinet ratification process.
