US Senate confirms Blinken as secretary of state
27 January, 2021
The US Senate on Tuesday (Jan 26) easily confirmed Antony Blinken as secretary of state, with key members of the rival Republican Party backing him.
Blinken, a longtime adviser to President Joe Biden who features vowed to repair US alliances, was approved simply by a vote of 78-22.
His easy confirmation is on the other hand with former president Donald Trump's two secretaries of state, Mike Pompeo and Rex Tillerson, who both scraped by with most Democrats opposed.
Republican senators who supported Blinken included two close Trump allies on the subject of foreign policy - Marco Rubio, a fervent critic of the leftist governments on Cuba and Venezuela, and Lindsey Graham, best-known for his hawkish views in Syria and Iran.
Senator James Risch, the most notable Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged colleagues to back again Blinken whilst acknowledging some disagreements.
"We desire a secretary of express. This can be a person for the work," Risch stated on the Senate floor.
"Of the many, many conditions that we discussed, there is very little, in fact, no daylight between us on some of them," he said.
He noted that he didn't again Blinken's support for time for the Iran nuclear accord, that Trump withdrew america.
But Risch pointed to Blinken's explained willingness to take on Turkey, a NATO ally that has upset various lawmakers by investing in a major weapons program from Russia.
Blinken on his confirmation hearing the other day also said he supported Trump's tough method of China and said he would certainly not reverse Trump's landmark decision to go the US embassy on Israel to Jerusalem.
Senator Robert Menendez, the committee's top Democrat, pointed to Blinken's capability to engage lawmakers over the political spectrum.
"I believe he's the best person to correct and restore our alliances to reinvigorate the relationship between the STATE DEPT. and Congress," Menendez said.
The stepson of a Holocaust survivor, Blinken, 58, is known for his passion for humanitarian causes but also his calm demeanor.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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