And i want to thank senator durbin in absentia for his very kind introduction. It is truly the honor of a lifetime to appear before this committee as president elect biden said nominee to be secretary of state. And its an honor that carry special significance for me for two reasons. First, as you noted, i had the privilege of serving as the democratic staff director of this committee for six years, working alongside distinguished group of senators, including several still on the committee today, to advance american diplomacy and safeguard the interests of the American People. That experience gave me an abiding respect for this committee, for its finest bipartisan traditions, for the caliber of its members and staff , for the essential work it does to strengthen u. S. Leadership around the world. If i have the honor of being a confirmed, those lessons that i learned in my years with this committee will guide my approach to our Work Together. The second point of significance for me is a
[inaudible conversations] the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee will come to order. We have an important hearing this afternoon, obviously, as we talk about the president elects nomination of antony j. Blinken to be secretary of state, and well get to that very quickly. Every time im sworn in for a new term, as a matter of personal privilege, for just two minutes, every time im sworn in for a new term, i kind of think back. As i start my 41st year as a member of a senate body, ive learned some things over that period of time. I spent 28 years in our state senate, over two decades leading it, and now 13 years here. Some things ive learned, if i can make, very briefly, an observation, if we treat each other with kindness and respect, we get things done. One of the best friends i had during my time in the state senate was the democrat leader. Were still close personal friends. My wife and i stay with him when we travel to north idaho. He consults with me frequently and give
Certainty about when the deliveries will arrive. These two steps are going to help increase our prospects of hitting or exceeding, god willing, the ambitious goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. The president is also ordering 200 million doses with the goal of vaccinating the entire population by the summer. But people dont believe that. You know why . Right now theres way too much demand and just not enough supply. Americans having trouble with the basics like just trying to get an appointment online or anyone to answer the phone. More answers could be coming later this morning when dr. Anthony fauci and bidens covid team will brief the public for the First Time Since biden took office. But right now we are dealing with a splitscreen reality all over the country. For example, weve got the cdc saying it is safe to open schools, but only if gyms, bars and Indoor Dining are all shut down. And while the focus for so Many Americans is on getting the vaccine, 3,000 people are still dyeing
First, i had the privilege of serving as staff director of this committee for six years, working alongside a a distinguished group of senators, including several who remain on the committee today, to advance american diplomacy and safeguard the interests of the American People. That experience gave me an abiding respect for this committee, for itste finest bipartisan traditions, for the caliber of its members and staff, and for the essential work it does to strengthen u. S. Leadership around the world. If i have the honor of being confirmed, those lessons i learned in my years with this committee will guide my approach to our Work Together. The second point of significance is more personal. In addition to my own confirmation as deputy secretary of state six years ago, this committee confirmed my wife evan ryan as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, my uncle alan blinken as ambassador to belgium, and my father Donald Blinken as ambassador to hungary. I i h
Protest against our police force only removed refugees, migrants from the streets in school, mohamed salah, looks set to make a Champions League return to liverpool, the club confirming the egyptian has now tested negative for corona virus. The u. S. President elect joe biden and Vice President elect camelot harris are about to formally announce their nominees for Key National Security and Foreign Policy posts. On monday, their transition to the white house formally began the head of a Government Agency responsible for the process finally acknowledged by as in her words, the apparent winner of the election. Well, soon well speak to white house correspondent, kimberly how kids in washington d. C. Trump had a one minute media here its not long ago, and shell tell us what he had to say. But 1st, lets start with shabba. Tant, see hes in wilmington, in delaware, so she had what do we expect, joe biden to say . I think will have a great deal of discussion of multilateralism, a return to glob