Blinken Takes Over at State Dept. With a Review of Trump’s Policies

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The Senate confirmed Antony J. Blinken as secretary of state. He is looking to reverse the Trump administration’s confrontational approach to diplomacy.

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Antony J. Blinken as the nation’s 71st secretary of state, installing President Biden’s longtime adviser with a mission to rejoin alliances that were fractured after four years of an “America First” foreign policy.

A centrist with an interventionist streak, Mr. Blinken was approved by a vote of 78 to 22, a signal that senators were eager to move past the Trump administration’s confrontational approach to diplomacy.

“Blinken is the right person to reassure America’s prerogatives on the global stage,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said before the vote. Continue reading.