Tag: Biden State Department

State, Dems call out Cruz over holds ahead of key Russian talks

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The State Department and Senate Democrats are calling out Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for holding up confirmation votes on key members of President Biden’s national security team. 

They are particularly criticizing Cruz for his hold on Bonnie Jenkins, who Biden nominated as under secretary of State for arms control and international security affairs.

U.S. and Russian officials are expected to meet on July 28 for the first Strategic Stability Dialogue on nuclear nonproliferation talks, which was announced during Biden’s first face-to-face summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month. Continue reading.

State Department to designate most countries with ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory

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The State Department said Monday that it would start updating its travel advisories this week to drastically increase the number of countries that get the “Level 4: Do Not Travel” designation.

In a statement, the department said roughly 80 percent of countries worldwide would soon be marked at the highest warning level. As of Monday afternoon, about 16 percent of countries had that label.

“This alignment better reflects the current, unpredictable, and ever-evolving threat posed by covid-19,” the department said in an email. “We continue to strongly recommend U.S. citizens reconsider all travel abroad, and postpone their trips if possible.” Continue reading.

Blinken Scraps Trump Administration’s Global Attack On Gay Human Rights

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The Biden administration has thrown out a report from the Trump administration that human rights groups criticized for devaluing LGBTQ rights across the globe.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday to discuss a 2020 report on the status of human rights that includes some 200 countries and territories.

“There is no hierarchy that makes some rights more important than others,” Blinken said. “Past unbalanced statements that suggest such a hierarchy, including those by the recently disbanded State Department advisory committee do not represent a guiding document for this administration.” Continue reading.

Blinken turns away from Trump-era approaches, starting with media relations

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken tried to reset the U.S. government’s relationship with the news media on his first full day in office, calling an independent press essential to the country’s global image and a “cornerstone of our democracy.”

“You keep the American people and the world informed about what we do here. That’s key to our mission,” he said to reporters in the State Department briefing room Wednesday.

Blinken’s attempt to overhaul the combative relationship between State Department officials and the media is among the decisions he is facing about what to keep or discard from the Trump era as President Biden pledges to bring unity and transparency in U.S. governance. Continue reading.

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.

Senate confirms Antony Blinken as secretary of state

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The Senate voted 78-22 on Tuesday to confirm Antony Blinken as secretary of state. 

Why it matters: Blinken, a longtime adviser to President Biden, will lead the administration’s diplomatic efforts to re-engage with the world after four years of former President Trump’s “America first” policy.

Background: Blinken is a French-speaker and step-son of a Holocaust survivor whose stories he credits with shaping his worldview. Like Biden, Blinken is a committed multilateralist and advocate for the United States as a leading force for good in the world. Continue reading.