Antony Blinken, a longtime Biden associate, was approved as the Secretary of State with a vote of 78-22, as was reported by CNN.
Antony Blinken said it is the honor of his life to serve as the top US diplomat after being sworn in as the newest Secretary of State Tuesday.
"My career has come full circle," Blinken wrote in a tweet Tuesday. "I started at the @StateDept in 1993, and, today, it's the honor of my life to lead the Department's women and men as the 71st Secretary of State.” "I want to thank my colleagues for welcoming me home," he added.
Blinken’s confirmation hearing went smoothly, with both Democrats and Republicans offering praise. Blinken was a committee staff director when Biden, who spent decades in the Senate, was chairman.
Blinken was sworn in at the State Department by Carol Perez, a career diplomat who is serving as acting undersecretary for management. Photos from the event show him taking the oath of office on a copy of the US Constitution.With Blinken's confirmation, President Joe Biden now has a number of key members of his national security team in place. In addition to national security adviser Jake Sullivan -- who does not require Senate confirmation -- Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines was confirmed on Inauguration Day and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was confirmed last Friday.
The 71st Secretary of State faces the challenges of restoring America's standing in the world and reinvigorating the department where many felt demoralized under the past administration. He will also be at the forefront of directing a sharp turn from "America First" foreign policy to one that focuses on multilateralism and coalitions.During his confirmation hearing last week, Blinken pledged to reengage with Congress on key foreign policy concerns.
He was pressed on Iran and efforts to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal. While Blinken made clear the Biden administration feels the world was safer with the Iran nuclear deal in place, he did not offer specifics on plans to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018.
"The President-elect believes that if Iran comes back into compliance, we would too," Blinken said at his hearing a day before the inauguration last week. "But, we would use that as a platform with our allies and partners who would once again be on the same side with us, to seek a longer and stronger agreement. And also, as you and the chairman have rightly pointed out, to capture these other issues, particularly with regard to missiles and Iran's destabilizing activities. That would be the objective."
"Having said that, I think we're a long way from there, we would have to see once the President-elect is in office what steps Iran actually takes and is prepared to take," Blinken said.
On China, he conceded that President Donald Trump "was right in taking a tougher approach to China."
He pledged to restore the agency he now leads, saying he is "committed to advancing our security and prosperity by building a diplomatic corps that fully represents America in all its talent and diversity."
Notably, all of the votes against Blinken’s confirmation came from Republicans.