Blinken, a longtime Biden associate, passed a 78-22 vote.
His confirmation was well received by lawmakers on both sides of the corridor, as well as by the professional association of the United States Foreign Service.
“The leadership of the State Department, the oldest cabinet agency in our nation, represents a great responsibility,” said the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) in a statement. “As we did for its predecessors, AFSA extends our congratulations and welcome to Secretary Blinken. We wish the Secretary and his team the best of luck in the years to come. AFSA and its members promise to work alongside them to strengthen the Foreign Service career and protect and improve the institution that is American diplomacy. “
The 71st Secretary of State faces the challenges of restoring America’s position in the world and reinvigorating a department where many felt demoralized under the previous administration.
He will also be at the forefront of directing a sharp shift from “America First” foreign policy to one that focuses on multilateralism and coalitions.
He was put under pressure on Iran and efforts to join the Iranian nuclear deal. Although Blinken made it clear that the Biden government feels that the world was more secure with the current Iran nuclear deal, he did not offer details on plans to return to the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA), from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018.
“The president-elect believes that if Iran again obeys, so will we,” Blinken said at his hearing the day before he took office last week. “But, we would use this as a platform with our allies and partners who would once again be on the same side as us, to seek a longer and stronger agreement. And also, as you and the chairman very well pointed out, to capture these other issues, particularly with regard to Iran’s missile and destabilizing activities. That would be the goal. “
“Having said that, I think we are a long way from that, we would have to see, when the president-elect is in office, what measures Iran will actually take and is prepared to take,” said Blinken.
On China, he admitted that President Donald Trump “was right to take a tougher approach to China”.
“I strongly disagree with the way he did this in a number of areas, but the basic principle was right and I think this is really useful for our foreign policy,” said Blinken.
He promised to restore the agency he now leads, saying he is “committed to advancing our security and prosperity by building a diplomatic corps that fully represents the United States in all its talent and diversity”.
And where his predecessor Mike Pompeo promised to bring “arrogance”, Blinken called for “humility and confidence.”
“Humility because we have a lot of work to do at home to improve our position abroad. And humility because most of the world’s problems are not about us, even when they affect us. None of the great challenges we face can be overcome by a country acting alone. – even one as powerful as the US, “he said. “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.”
CNN’s Nicole Gaouette and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.