The President-elect, Joe Biden, advanced this Monday in the conformation of his cabinet with the announcement of several senior positions including the confirmation that Antony Blinken will be his secretary of state. The election of Blinken, a seasoned diplomat who was number two in the State Department, indicates a return to multilateralism after Donald Trump’s strategy of distancing himself from Washington’s traditional allies.
In addition, former Massachusetts Secretary of State and Senator John Kerry will lead the incoming administration’s effort to combat climate change. Likewise, Biden chose Cuban-American Alejandro Mayorkas, born in Havana, to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the first Latin and immigrant nominated for that position.
“Alejandro Mayorkas, former DHS undersecretary, who has been confirmed by the United States Senate three times throughout his career, will be the first Latino and immigrant nominated to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,” reported the transition team from Biden in a statement.
In addition, the president-elect announced Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN Ambassador, a 35-year veteran of the United States Foreign Service who has served on four continents. Jake Sullivan as National Security Advisor, will be one of the youngest people to hold the position in decades. Also, Avril Haines, former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and deputy adviser for National Security, will be nominated as director of National Intelligence. Haines will be the first woman to lead the intelligence community.
Additionally, Biden is expected to appoint former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary, a financial source close to the incoming government’s decisions told AFP on Monday. If Yellen is confirmed by the Senate, she will become the first woman to head the Treasury Department, a position she would assume amid the deep crisis that has rocked the world’s largest economy due to the coronavirus.
“Yellen is going to be the next Secretary of the Treasury,” the source told AFP, confirming an information published by The Wall Street Journal.
