Blinken intends to outline three priorities in prepared remarks – the first to breathe life into a state department that has been hollowed out after four years by the Trump administration and undermined by Trump’s attack on American democracy.
Blinken stresses the need to revive US diplomacy following international mistrust and disgust caused by Trump’s policies. He will also discuss Biden’s desire to restore the traditional partnership with the Congress of Foreign Policy, where lawmakers have often complained that they were excluded and ignored by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
And where Pompeo has emphasized ‘weaker’, Blinken will tell lawmakers that “humility and trust should be the other side of the American leadership coin.”
“Humility because we have to do a lot of work at home to improve our position abroad,” Blinken is expected to say. “But we will also act with confidence that America, at its best, still has a greater capacity than any country on earth to mobilize others to the best advantage.”
Blinken highlights transnational challenges facing international partnerships, from defeating the Covid-19 pandemic to dealing with China; stand up for human rights; affirming the value and strength of democratic government; combating threats from Iran, Russia and North Korea; and tackling “the existential threat of climate change.”
The 58-year-old will make a personal note at the top of the trial in his remarks and introduce himself to the public and the committee, where he once worked for six years and senators know him well. The father of two will describe his pride in his family’s service history and say he sees it as ‘payment on the debt our family owes to the nation that has provided shelter and extraordinary opportunities for generations.’
Trump administration policies led to a North Korea that was better equipped four years later to strike North American shores with nuclear weapons. Iran is closer to producing a nuclear weapon if it decides to make the sprint to one. China has further strengthened its influence in Asia, crushing Hong Kong’s democracy and tainting a trade deal after Trump tore up the Obama administration’s plans to create its own Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017.
Blinken, who previously served as Biden’s top foreign policy adviser, is likely to face hostile questions about Biden’s plans to re-enter the Iranian nuclear deal from Republicans who opposed the Obama administration’s initiative. He may also have questions about whether his work as a private consultant with foreign clients can influence his decision-making.