WILMINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a list of veteran diplomats and politicians who will make up his national security and foreign policy team, saying, “America is back, ready to lead the world.”
The 78-year-old Biden presented his elections for secretary of state, national security adviser, secretary of national security, intelligence chief, UN ambassador and climate change envoy.
“These public servants will restore America’s global leadership and moral leadership,” Biden said as the six men and women stood behind him wearing face masks.
Biden said that after he takes office Jan. 20 and Donald Trump leaves the White House, the United States “will once again sit at the head of the table, ready to confront our adversaries and not reject our allies.”
“It is a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not to withdraw from it,” he said in a comment on President Trump’s “America First” policies.
Biden’s comments came after Trump suffered further setbacks in his efforts to overturn the election results on unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.
Pennsylvania and Nevada certified the results of the Nov.3 election on Tuesday, a day after the state of Michigan did so, a move that prompted the General Services Administration (GSA) to launch the transition process.
As more members of his Republican Party came out demanding an end to the stalemate, Trump approved the GSA measure, effectively admitting defeat.
But on Tuesday the president tweeted a photo of himself in the Oval Office with the caption “I grant NOTHING !!!!!”
Trump, 74, later attended a traditional Thanksgiving turkey pardon event at the White House.
He seemed to be addressing the election indirectly, saying, “I say America first, shouldn’t walk away from that.”
The GSA’s determination gives Biden access to classified information and will allow his assistants to coordinate with officials to address the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
“We are already working to meet with the Covid team at the White House … The approach has been sincere,” Biden told NBC in his first television interview since he won the presidency.
Biden said that in his first 100 days in office he would address the Covid crisis, eliminate Trump’s policies that “harm” the environment and push for legislation that offers millions of undocumented residents a path to citizenship.
And he said he wanted all students to return to classrooms, despite the enormous cost of adapting schools to be safe for Covid.
Biden’s list included veterans of the Barack Obama administration and signaled a return to traditional US diplomacy and multilateralism.
Biden said “the United States will reaffirm its role in the world and be a coalition builder,” but denied it would be like a third term for Obama, whom he served as vice president.
“We are facing a totally different world,” said the president-elect. “President Trump has changed the landscape. He has become America First, which means only the United States.”
Antony Blinken, elected by Biden as secretary of state, said the United States cannot solve global problems on its own.
“We need to work with other countries,” said the former State Department official.
However, outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced Biden’s call for greater international cooperation and said Trump had focused on “real results” and “the reality on the ground.”
“More multilateralism just for the sake of hanging out with your friends at a cocktail party? That’s not the best thing for the United States,” Pompeo told Fox News.
Pompeo said he had not spoken to Blinken but would “do whatever the law requires” as part of the transition.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, whom Biden selected as his special envoy on climate change, confirmed that the United States will join the Paris climate accord from which Trump withdrew in 2015.
Cuban-born Alejandro Mayorkas was appointed director of the Department of Homeland Security, whose monitoring of strict immigration restrictions under Trump was a frequent source of controversy.
Avril Haines was nominated to be director of national intelligence, the first woman to hold the position, while Jake Sullivan was named national security adviser.
Former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is expected to be appointed Secretary of the Treasury, the first woman to hold the post.
With Biden scoring a comfortable victory, Trump’s latest letter is to try to disrupt the normally routine state-by-state vote certification process and challenge the election results in court with claims of wrongdoing.
However, legal offensives have so far failed, along with attempts to delay state certification.
“The legal efforts of the Trump campaign have no basis in fact, they have no basis in law,” said Bob Bauer, senior advisor to Biden’s campaign. “Its sole purpose is to delay the inevitable.
The 78-year-old Biden presented his elections for secretary of state, national security adviser, secretary of national security, intelligence chief, UN ambassador and climate change envoy.
“These public servants will restore America’s global leadership and moral leadership,” Biden said as the six men and women stood behind him wearing face masks.
Biden said that after he takes office Jan. 20 and Donald Trump leaves the White House, the United States “will once again sit at the head of the table, ready to confront our adversaries and not reject our allies.”
“It is a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not to withdraw from it,” he said in a comment on President Trump’s “America First” policies.
Biden’s comments came after Trump suffered further setbacks in his efforts to overturn the election results on unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.
Pennsylvania and Nevada certified the results of the Nov.3 election on Tuesday, a day after the state of Michigan did so, a move that prompted the General Services Administration (GSA) to launch the transition process.
As more members of his Republican Party came out demanding an end to the stalemate, Trump approved the GSA measure, effectively admitting defeat.
But on Tuesday the president tweeted a photo of himself in the Oval Office with the caption “I grant NOTHING !!!!!”
Trump, 74, later attended a traditional Thanksgiving turkey pardon event at the White House.
He seemed to be addressing the election indirectly, saying, “I say America first, shouldn’t walk away from that.”
The GSA’s determination gives Biden access to classified information and will allow his assistants to coordinate with officials to address the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
“We are already working to meet with the Covid team at the White House … The approach has been sincere,” Biden told NBC in his first television interview since he won the presidency.
Biden said that in his first 100 days in office he would address the Covid crisis, eliminate Trump’s policies that “harm” the environment and push for legislation that offers millions of undocumented residents a path to citizenship.
And he said he wanted all students to return to classrooms, despite the enormous cost of adapting schools to be safe for Covid.
Biden’s list included veterans of the Barack Obama administration and signaled a return to traditional US diplomacy and multilateralism.
Biden said “the United States will reaffirm its role in the world and be a coalition builder,” but denied it would be like a third term for Obama, whom he served as vice president.
“We are facing a totally different world,” said the president-elect. “President Trump has changed the landscape. He has become America First, which means only the United States.”
Antony Blinken, elected by Biden as secretary of state, said the United States cannot solve global problems on its own.
“We need to work with other countries,” said the former State Department official.
However, outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced Biden’s call for greater international cooperation and said Trump had focused on “real results” and “the reality on the ground.”
“More multilateralism just for the sake of hanging out with your friends at a cocktail party? That’s not the best thing for the United States,” Pompeo told Fox News.
Pompeo said he had not spoken to Blinken but would “do whatever the law requires” as part of the transition.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, whom Biden selected as his special envoy on climate change, confirmed that the United States will join the Paris climate accord from which Trump withdrew in 2015.
Cuban-born Alejandro Mayorkas was appointed director of the Department of Homeland Security, whose monitoring of strict immigration restrictions under Trump was a frequent source of controversy.
Avril Haines was nominated to be director of national intelligence, the first woman to hold the position, while Jake Sullivan was named national security adviser.
Former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is expected to be appointed Secretary of the Treasury, the first woman to hold the post.
With Biden scoring a comfortable victory, Trump’s latest letter is to try to disrupt the normally routine state-by-state vote certification process and challenge the election results in court with claims of wrongdoing.
However, legal offensives have so far failed, along with attempts to delay state certification.
“The legal efforts of the Trump campaign have no basis in fact, they have no basis in law,” said Bob Bauer, senior advisor to Biden’s campaign. “Its sole purpose is to delay the inevitable.
.
