Blinken is expected to outline three priorities in prepared comments – the first being to bring to life an emptied State Department after four years of the Trump administration and undermined by Trump’s attack on American democracy.
Blinken will emphasize the need to revitalize American diplomacy after international distrust and disgust generated by Trump’s policies. He will also discuss Biden’s desire to restore the government’s traditional foreign policy partnership with Congress, where lawmakers have often complained of being excluded and ignored by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
And where Pompeo emphasized “arrogance”, Blinken will tell lawmakers that “humility and trust should be the opposite sides of the American leadership coin”.
“Humility because we have a lot of work to do at home to improve our position abroad,” Blinken is expected to say. “But we will also act with confidence that the best United States still has a greater capacity than any country in the world to mobilize others for the greater good.”
Blinken will highlight the transnational challenges that will require international partnerships, from defeating the Covid-19 pandemic to dealing with China; defending human rights; reaffirming the value and strength of democratic governance; facing threats from Iran, Russia and North Korea; and assuming “the existential threat posed by climate change.”
The 58-year-old man will have a personal note in his statements at the beginning of the hearing, introducing himself to the public and the committee, where he worked for six years and the senators know him well. The father of two will describe his pride in his family’s service history, saying he sees it as “paying off the debt our family owes to the nation that has given us refuge and extraordinary opportunities over the generations.”
The Trump administration’s policies have resulted in a North Korea that, four years later, is better equipped to attack American shores with nuclear weapons. Iran is closer to producing a nuclear weapon if it decides to run towards one. China further solidified its influence in Asia, crushing Hong Kong’s democracy and signing a trade agreement after Trump, in 2017, destroyed the Obama administration’s plans to create its own Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Blinken, who was once Biden’s top foreign policy advisor, is likely to face hostile questions about Biden’s plans to rejoin the nuclear deal with Iran by Republicans who opposed the Obama administration’s initiative. He may also find doubts about whether his work as a private consultant for foreign clients could influence his decision making.