US President-elect Joe Biden is pushing ahead with appointing officials for his upcoming administration, with some of the most senior posts set to be announced this week.Late Sunday, news leaked that Biden intends to tap Antony Blinken as the secretary of state and Jake Sullivan as the national security adviser.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Blinken, 58, is a longtime confidante of Biden and has worked with the former VP for decades.During Biden’s time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Blinken was his aide and played a central role in crafting US policy in the Middle East.Blinken referred to as a centrist, has admitted to getting Washington’s policy on Syria wrong during his time in the Obama administration.Sullivan, formerly one of Hillary Clinton’s closest aides, is also to be named Biden’s national security adviser, Bloomberg reported.Meanwhile, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the former assistant secretary of state for Africa in the Obama administration, is expected to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations.Biden also said last week he had chosen a secretary of treasury, and would announce the person near the Nov. 26 Thanksgiving holiday. Former Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen is said to be the top candidate.The appointments, needing Senate confirmation, will be announced by Biden Tuesday, according to his newly-appointed chief-of-staff, Ron Klain.Klain, Biden’s chief of staff while VP, was Biden’s first hire since he beat incumbent President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 elections.So far, Biden has steered away from controversial names in a sign that he intends to seek a middle ground with Republicans.Susan Rice, US ambassador to the UN and then the national security adviser under Obama, was one of the potential candidates for secretary of state. However, her past comments after the deadly 2012 attacks on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, have been controversial and heavily criticized by the Republican party.On Monday, Biden named Reema Dodin and Shuwanza Goff as deputy directors of the White House’s office of legislative affairs, which coordinates legislation with Congress. Dodin and Goff have served as top legislative strategists for Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and Democratic House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, respectively.Read more:US policies in the Middle East: An in-depth analysis of Biden’s plansCentrist Blinken to be Biden’s pick for US secretary of state- with agencies
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Joe Biden is expected to fill top brass positions with veteran diplomats: Who’s who?
