Biden Cabinet members actions and issues: on Foreign Policy


Lloyd Austin: China most significant challenge going forward

During his confirmation hearing, Austin called China "the most significant challenge going forward," adding that Russia, though "in decline," was also a challenge.
Source: CNN, "Pentagon Chief," on Biden Cabinet Feb 5, 2021

Antony Blinken: Deeply disturbed by crackdown on protestors in Russia

We are deeply disturbed by this violent crackdown against people exercising their rights to protest peacefully against their government, rights that are guaranteed to them in the Russian constitution. I think the Russian Government makes a big mistake if it believes that this is about us. It's not. It's about them. It's about the government. It's about the frustration that the Russian people have with corruption, with kleptocracy.

We're reviewing a series of Russian actions that are deeply, deeply disturbing. Interference in our elections, the use of cyber tools in the so-called SolarWinds attack that Russia appears to be responsible for getting into computer networks both public and private, and finally, we have the reported bounties on American troops in Afghanistan. Depending on the findings of those reviews, we will take steps to stand up for our interests and stand against Russian aggressive actions.

Source: MSNBC interview: Secretary of State (Biden Cabinet) Feb 1, 2021

Antony Blinken: Challenge of China is complicated; we need strong alliances

There's no doubt that China poses the most significant challenge to us of any other country, but it's a complicated one. There are adversarial aspects to the relationship, there's certainly competitive ones, and there's still some cooperative ones, too. We have to be able to approach China from a position of strength, not weakness. And that strength, I think, comes from having strong alliances, something China does not have.

As we're thinking about both dealing with this pandemic but also making sure we're in a position to prevent the next one, China has to step up and make sure that it is being transparent, that it is providing information and sharing information, that it is giving access to international experts and inspectors. Its failure to do that is a real problem that we have to address.

Source: MSNBC interview: Secretary of State (Biden Cabinet) Feb 1, 2021

Jennifer Granholm: Long critical of Trump's Russia connections

President-elect Biden's choice to helm the Department of Energy, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, has a history of publicly promoting theories about Russian collusion in the 2016 election. Granholm began pushing the notion that President Donald Trump was enamored of Russia in mid-2015. The former governor, in particular, was an early proponent of the idea that Trump's reluctance to release his tax returns during the 2016 contest might have been tied to business dealings in Russia.
Source: Breitbart blog on Biden Cabinet, "Russia Conspiracy" Dec 15, 2020

Susan Rice: As Rhodes Scholar, urged divesting from South Africa

Rice was one of three students in her year at Stanford to win the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, which she used to study international relations at New College, Oxford. During her senior year, Rice and fellow recipients leveraged their positions as incoming Rhodes scholars to urge Stanford University and the Rhodes Trust to divest from corporations conducting business in South Africa in protest of apartheid.
Source: Stanford Daily on Biden Cabinet Dec 13, 2020

John Kerry: Co-founded US-China Climate Change Working Group

As secretary of state under Barack Obama, it was Kerry who founded the US-China Climate Change Working Group with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, and who helped broker negotiations with Beijing that ultimately paved the way for the Paris Agreement, which Trump abruptly withdrew from in 2017. The prospect of a return to a joint effort by the world's top two polluters to combat the climate crisis has set off alarm bells among some political circles in the US.
Source: South China Morning Post on Biden Cabinet Dec 12, 2020

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2020 Presidential contenders on Foreign Policy:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: May 20, 2021