Shaheen Meets with President-elect Biden’s Secretary of State & UN Ambassador Nominees

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen in her Washington, D.C. office today where she had two meetings with Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statements after meeting with President-elect Joe Biden’s nominees Antony Blinken and Linda Thomas-Greenfield to serve as Secretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, respectively.

“The role of our nation’s top diplomat is one of the most important positions in any administration. This position will take on even more significance in President-elect Biden’s cabinet since the next Secretary of State will have the daunting task of rebuilding the State Department and our alliances, which have been depleted under the Trump administration. Now more than ever, we need a U.S. foreign policy that reaffirms our nation’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance, confronts the threat of increasingly aggressive adversaries, like Russia and China, stands up for Americans overseas and advocates for the inclusion of women in peace and conflict resolution, among other critical concerns,” said Shaheen, the only woman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Europe and Security Cooperation. “In my meeting today, I addressed issues impacting us in New Hampshire and highlighted lessons learned from cases of hostages I worked on, like that of Amer Fakhoury, Andrew Brunson and others. I also raised the security and morale of our diplomatic personnel—particularly in the face of political attacks from within and external attacks at the hands of adversaries. With extensive foreign affairs experience from posts on Capitol Hill, the White House and U.S. State Department under President Obama, Tony Blinken is exceedingly qualified for this position and I believe he could hit the ground running on day one. I appreciated the opportunity to speak with him about these issues that must be at the top of our next Secretary of State’s list and I look forward to seeing his nomination proceed in Congress.”

Shaheen continued, “Linda Thomas-Greenfield is a career diplomat with more than 30 years of experience at stations around the world. Her breadth of knowledge on important global policy priorities stemming from her work addressing economic development and humanitarian issues in developing nations, to her leadership position at the State Department during the Ebola crisis make her an excellent choice to serve as the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” said Shaheen. “Our nation and world are facing the greatest global health crisis of a generation and we need leaders who will engage meaningfully with our partners to get to the other side of this pandemic. The next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations will also be tasked with helping to rebuild our relationships with our allies and re-engage the U.S. on key international initiatives, of which the most significant is the existential threat of climate change. I believe Linda Thomas-Greenfield is up for the challenge and would serve our country with distinction and honor. I look forward to seeing her nomination advance and working to support her efforts, particularly as the U.S. takes the helm of the Security Council Presidency and prepares to reassert its leadership at 65th session of the Commission of the Status of Women.” 

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