Biden Foreign Policy Team: A Great Start for Biden
By: John Dean
Tags: Diplomacy, Politics, Biden, President, Foreign Policy

Biden Foreign Policy Team: A Great Start for Biden

By US State Department — https://www.brookings.edu/events/cities-and-refugees-the-european-response/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38306231

President-elect Joe Biden’s announcement of major foreign policy appointees this week is a cause for celebration. The list is headed by Antony Blinken, a former Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy National Security Advisor. Also included is the appointment of former Secretary of State John Kerry, who will serve as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and a member of the National Security Council. Other appointments include career diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield as Ambassador to the UN and Jake Sullivan as National Security Advisor. All are great appointments.

The most important of the appointees is that of Secretary of State. Mr. Blinken’s appointment will restore morale at a Department that has suffered under Secretaries Tillerson and Pompeo. So bad were the Trump years at State that some have speculated permanent damage was done to the Department and its vitally important Foreign Service.

Perhaps it is unnecessary to review the Trump legacy at the Department, but the Biden appointments can be viewed as medicine to apply to the injuries his predecessor wrought.

Former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson was a disaster. Eliot A. Cohen of The Atlantic described him as “a debacle, pure and simple, the worst Secretary of State in living memory (and there has been serious competition) not because of ineptitude, but because of the semi-intentional demolition job he was doing on his own Department even as he fell out of presidential favor.”

Once Tillerson was fired, via tweet, by Trump, Mike Pompeo continued to undermine the Department. After promising to restore the “swagger” of the Department and fill dozens of vacant positions, Pompeo did neither. As the Washington Post noted, “Scores of senior positions and ambassadorships remain vacant or filled by acting officials, including 11 of the Assistant Secretary and Undersecretary posts whose occupants typically are the workhorses of U.S. diplomacy.”

The foreign service welcomes the Biden nominees. All four come from the foreign policy establishment and have served in high-level positions in the past. No on-the-job learning is needed. All these appointments are likely to see career foreign service officers and diplomats as assets, not obstacles.

Senate approval of the nominees is likely. Each of them may be evidence of Biden’s intention to work in a bipartisan manner. Republicans, with the possible exceptions of Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and a few others, will have difficulty finding reasons to justify a “no” vote. Expect Senate confirmations with bipartisan votes shortly after Inauguration Day.

Each of the nominees has extensive experience in government, making them “known commodities.” Around the globe, they also will be viewed as welcome indicators of stability. Little research will be needed to determine where any of these appointees stand on key issues.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the appointment of former Secretary of State John Kerry as Climate Envoy. Democrats, and the rest of the world, will see this appointment as a sign that the U.S. is again serious about addressing climate change.

Hey Joe, any possibility of tapping Hillary for a similar special envoy position? Maybe after Trump finally concedes?

All four appointees are also likely to work well with the President. Blinken worked with Biden both as a Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer and while Biden was Vice-President. Jake Sullivan has similar experience.

All the nominees are likely to be loyal, more interested in promoting the new administration’s success than furthering their careers. This will be a sharp contrast to the Trump team, which featured several appointees with presidential aspirations (Ivanka Trump, Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, and Jared Kushner).

As is inevitable, not everyone welcomes the Biden nominations. Blinken has been criticized for advising Biden to support the Iraq war. Republicans may bemoan movement away from the “America First” policies of Trump, including his Muslim ban and conflicts with longtime allies. But some disagreement also may come from within the Democratic party. Progressives are likely to express disappointment that more progressive people were not chosen. Some may even question Biden’s propensity to compromise, something seen as a negative in the face of challenges like climate change.

Stay tuned.