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Senate confirms Antony Blinken as Biden's secretary of stateBlinken has pledged to re-engage U.S. allies and supports a tough approach to China.The Senate confirmed Antony Blinken as President Joe Biden's secretary of state on Tuesday with overwhelming bipartisan support.A foreign affairs veteran with a family history of public service, Blinken will be the 71st top U.S. diplomat and senior-most Cabinet member, serving as the chief representative of United States around the globe. The vote to confirm him was 78-22.“Mr. Blinken must be confirmed so we can start addressing the challenges we face abroad," Sen. Bob Menenedez, D-N.J., said ahead of the vote. "Every day there is an event or calamity across the globe. Whether it is a massacre in Ethiopia or democratic protests in Russia, we need U.S. leadership and engagement to chart our foreign policy through these troubling troubling times.”Blinken has pledged to re-engage U.S. allies, rebuild global alliances and lead from a position of “humility and confidence,” as the U.S. reels from its own domestic turmoil and the twin health and economic crises stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. He has also promised to revitalize a State Department weakened by years of attrition and low morale.“American leadership still matters," Blinken said in his Senate confirmation hearing last week. "The reality is, the world, simply does not organize itself. When we're not engaged, when we're not leading, then one of two things is likely to happen: Either some other country tries to take our place, but not in a way that's likely to advance our interests and values, or maybe just as bad, no one does and then you have chaos. Either way, that does not serve the American people.”https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/senate-confirms-antony-blinken-biden-s-secretary-state-n1255696
Democratic Sen. Menendez rips Biden administration for ‘flawed’ Afghanistan withdrawal, vows hearingsSen. Robert Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vowed to hold the Biden administration accountable for what he characterized as its botched execution of the U.S. troop departure from Afghanistan.In a lengthy statement Tuesday, the New Jersey Democrat offered one of the most pointed criticisms of President Joe Biden from within the party to date.“In implementing this flawed plan, I am disappointed that the Biden administration clearly did not accurately assess the implications of a rapid U.S. withdrawal. We are now witnessing the horrifying results of many years of policy and intelligence failures,” Menendez said in a release.“The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will continue fulfilling its oversight role with a hearing on U.S. policy towards Afghanistan, including the Trump administration’s flawed negotiations with Taliban, and the Biden administration’s flawed execution of the U.S. withdrawal,” he added.
