The race for Biden as secretary of state has already begun

Do not count on them

Foreign affairs analysts say that other prominent Obama appointees who could run are Samantha Power, who served on the National Security Council and the US ambassador to the United Nations. Tom Donilon, a former Obama national security advisor who has known Biden for a long time. And Wendy Sherman, one of the principal architects of the Iran nuclear deal who served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

Some current and former diplomats say Biden should give serious consideration to appointing a current or former employee of the diplomatic service as Secretary of State. That would indicate to the State Department employees that he is supporting them.

Under Trump, many US diplomats have been sidelined and seen as a “deep state” bent on destroying the president’s agenda. Trump has also tried repeatedly to cut the State Department budget by a third, but Congress has prevented that.

“It’s important that the next Secretary of State is not only the general diplomat, but also be able to repair the State Department after the damage done by the Trump administration,” said a former Obama State Department official.

One potential candidate with deep ties to the department is William Burns, a longtime diplomat who served as deputy secretary of state under Obama. He is now president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Another potential foreign service option is Nicholas Burns, whose positions at the State Department included Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs during the George W. Bush years. Now studying at Harvard.

While neither campaign publicly for the position of Secretary of State, neither oversees or participates in projects that address big-picture questions about the direction of US foreign policy.

Nicholas Burns’ initiative, called the American Diplomacy Project, is designed to produce a nonpartisan post-election report showing how to “rebuild the Foreign Service for the next half-century,” according to the report. Advertising in April.

At Carnegie, William Burns partnered with A. Project Entitled “Making US Foreign Policy Work Better for the Middle Class.” The project addresses what appears at times to be a disconnect between US foreign policy choices and economic decisions that affect ordinary Americans.

In an article he co-authored for Foreign Affairs, William Burns outlines the stark challenge of anyone chosen to be Biden’s Secretary of State.

After four years of relentless attacks by the Trump administration and decades of neglect, political paralysis, and organizational drift, US diplomacy is severely broken. But it’s not beyond repair, at least for now. ” article States. “What is required now is a major renewal of diplomatic capacity, an effort that balances ambition and the limits of the possible at a time of increasing difficulties at home and abroad.”

Biden’s aides and allies prefer not to discuss potential options for staff – they say the election could go either way, and they are tightly focused on defeating Trump above all else. None of the Burns family (unrelated) have commented on this story. Donilon declined to comment, while Sherman and Bauer did not respond to requests for comment.

Transition planning for Biden’s presidency has been under way for months, with both paid and unpaid advisers Play Role. Recently, the transition team Not subtly said People already maneuvering for ministerial positions to get rid of them.

“Our focus between now and election day is on defeating Donald Trump and uniting our country to face the crises that he failed to address,” said Michael Gwen, a campaign spokesman. “Work to rebuild our government to meet these challenges will come next.”