U.S. President-elect Joe Biden announces defense secretary nominee Austin in Wilmington, Delaware
(Reuters) – Democratic President-elect Joe Biden has nominated a flurry of members for his Cabinet and White House team, working to fulfill his promise to build an administration that reflects the United States’ diversity.
On Wednesday, Biden introduced his onetime Democratic rival Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary.
Here are some important picks as well as top contenders for prominent posts, according to Reuters reporting:
SECRETARY OF STATE: ANTONY BLINKEN
The longtime Biden confidant served as No. 2 at the State Department and as deputy national security adviser in President Barack Obama’s administration.
Updated / Wednesday, 16 Dec 2020
15:02
Joe Biden is continuing to announce his Cabinet selections
The President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, has begun nominating members of his Cabinet and White House team, working to fulfill his promise to build an administration that reflects the country s diversity.
Mr Biden continued filling out his Cabinet yesterday, selecting his former rival Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to run the Energy Department.
Here are some of the important selections he has made so far:
Secretary of State: Antony Blinken
The longtime Biden confidant served as Number 2 at the State Department and as deputy national security adviser in former president Barack Obama s administration.
Raphael Ahren is the diplomatic correspondent at The Times of Israel.
Sahrawi children from Western Sahara sit in their classroom in the Smara refugee camp near Tindouf, south-western Algeria, March 4, 2016. (AP/ Toukik Doudou).
They are both rugged regions claimed by an indigenous population but ruled by a UN member state in a seemingly neverending struggle. They have both seen periods of violent fighting and are riven by a physical barrier built for security. They are both the subject of countless UN resolutions, international condemnations, and US-brokered peace plans. They are both places where US President Donald Trump’s administration has upended decades of consensus by favoring the ruling party’s claims. Not to mention, they both have “west” in their names.
Examining the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act
December 13, 2020Congress
TACOMA, Washington The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) Authorization Act was first instituted in 2009 to create safer communities in Caribbean nations targeted by drug trafficking. The H.R. 7703 bill was introduced to authorize appropriations for the initiative, to implement disaster resilience strategies and to strengthen the security partnership between the United States and the Caribbean nations.
Security Concerns in the Caribbean
All 15 Caribbean countries, especially the Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, make up a network of illicit drug smuggling from South America to the United States. Due to the intervention from outside nations, including the U.S., there has been a significant decrease in the quantity of cocaine brought into the U.S. from the Caribbean, relative to the total shipments from South America since the 1980s. In 2001, 26% of the cocaine
Dec 13, 2020
Dec 13, 2020
Considering how toxic things have become in Washington in recent years, all too often weâve seen well-intended, common sense measures overlooked by lawmakers blinded by their own partisan blinders. One such example of an important measure that has not yet gained traction is the bipartisan Building Rural Investments, Development, and Growth for the Economy (BRIDGE) Act recently introduced by U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va.
The goal of H.R. 8804 is to bridge the economic urban-rural divide as America continues to heal from COVID-19, according to Miller. She says the legislation directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of State to promote the export of goods from rural regions, with a focus on small businesses. The measure additionally directs officials to facilitate foreign investments into rural communities.