Joe Biden apparently just leaked his Secretary of State
All along we’ve cautioned you to ignore any leaks about this or that person being “considered” for a Joe Biden cabinet position. Those leaks often come from someone who’s not under consideration, but is trying to turn it into a self fulfilling prophecy. In other words, such leaks don’t come from inside the Biden camp. But there is an exception to this rule. Just before an announcement is made, the name will often leak in definite terms, so that the media has time to educate the public on the pick before it’s announced.
Joe Biden has been signaling that he would announce his Secretary of State soon. Sure enough, Bloomberg is reporting tonight that it’s definitely Tony Blinken. Assuming this is true, he’s a fantastic pick. He was Deputy Secretary of State during the Obama-Biden administration, meaning he has the unique combination of skills and experience required for the Secretary of State position. Also, Tony Blinken once appeared on Sesame Street, so you’ve got to like him.
Interestingly, this same Bloomberg report says that “Jake Sullivan is likely to be named National Security Adviser.” We tend to believe this is likely accurate as well, since it’s coming from the same source as Blinken. Sullivan was an assistant to Obama’s National Security Adviser, and was the frontrunner to be Hillary Clinton’s National Security Adviser.
In other words, President-elect Biden is hitting the ground running with knowledgeable and experienced Obama-Biden era operatives whom he knows he can trust. This is crucial, considering what a mess Trump has made of world relations. One key question is where this leaves Susan Rice. She would have excelled as Secretary of State or National Security Adviser, but she apparently isn’t taking either role. Biden and Rice met during the campaign and appear to be close.
