[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S91-S92]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NOMINATION OF ANTONY BLINKEN

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, I come to the floor today to urge the 
swift confirmation for Tony Blinken to be the Secretary of State.
  Like we saw with Avril Haines yesterday and moving toward Lloyd 
Austin today, we need to hold a floor vote on Mr. Blinken's nomination 
urgently.
  Mr. Blinken is well known to the Senate, having previously been 
confirmed as Deputy Secretary of State, having served as the Deputy 
National Security Advisor and, of course, as the staff director of the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee before that.
  He is superbly qualified to be the Secretary of State, and his 
knowledge and thoughtfulness were on display during 5 hours of 
testimony earlier this week. And since then, he has been asked to 
respond to hundreds of questions. As a matter of fact, he has had an 
inordinate number of questions that have been put to him for the 
record. He had nearly over half a hundred before his hearing. He has 
had from a couple of our colleagues nearly 600 questions, including 
multiple parts to those questions. And to my knowledge, he has largely 
answered them all, notwithstanding the size, the magnitude of it.
  Now, I have been, since I arrived in this institution, one of the big 
advocates of the prerogatives of each and every individual Senator and 
of the institution. So I take a back step to no one, but there is a 
difference between prerogatives and prerogatives that are abused, 
which, in essence, are for the purpose of not seeking information but 
for the purpose of delaying a nomination.
  Now, I appreciate that Senator Risch, the present chairman of the 
committee, has been working with me to try to accelerate Mr. Blinken's 
nomination to the floor, but I would ask my colleagues, particularly 
those on the committee, to join him and I in an effort to bring one of 
the important national security positions in our government to the 
floor for a vote.
  I don't think we should be leaving this weekend without a vote for 
the Secretary of State.
  He is the right person to repair and restore our alliances, to 
rebuild and renew the State Department, to reinvigorate the 
relationship between the Department and Congress--something

[[Page S92]]

that I think Republicans and Democrats alike have agreed have soured 
dramatically.
  His testimony, his opening statement, his answers to questions show 
that he will be a working partner with this institution.
  But, obviously, confirming Mr. Blinken is not just about the nominee 
himself. It is about doing what the American people expect and the 
Constitution requires--providing advice and consent to ensure that 
national security officials are in office in a timely manner.
  We are facing challenges in every corner of the world. The world is 
on fire--from Iran to Russia, to Venezuela, to global challenges that 
define our times and defy borders, like COVID, migration, and climate 
change. We can't afford delaying to put Mr. Blinken in office. We can't 
allow the State Department to be rudderless.
  If we don't have leadership, we can't be sure that China or Russia 
and others won't fill the vacuum as they have for the last several 
years or do something that is adverse to our national and economic 
security.
  Imagine that there is a hostage deal to be had, as I believe there 
is, and you can't have another country call the Secretary of State 
because the Secretary of State doesn't exist.
  Imagine if there are tensions between two countries that affect our 
national interests. You don't have a Secretary of State to call as 
counterpart in those countries to seek to ease the tension, to remove 
the threat.
  Imagine if President Biden needs to have a Secretary of State engage 
in some part of the world to stop a conflict, to open an opportunity, 
to prevent an unintended consequence. We don't have that person, and we 
cannot expect the President to pick up the phone in each and every 
instance in the world as he is trying to deal with COVID at home and an 
economic crisis that follows on from that. That is what the Secretary 
of State does.
  So Mr. Blinken also, finally, is not just critical to addressing 
challenges abroad, we have to acknowledge what the role of Secretary of 
State is here at home.
  If we remember what just happened back on the 6th, three of the first 
four officials in the line of succession--the Vice President, the 
Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate--were 
in the Capitol when domestic terrorists breached the building. Every 
day we learn more details about this heinous attack, including that the 
terrorists, some of whom were chanting ``Hang Mike Pence!'' came within 
a minute or so of a potential face-to-face encounter with Vice 
President Pence. Thank God, through the quick thinking and heroics of 
our Capitol Police and other law enforcement, those three remained 
unscathed, but if something had happened, it is the Secretary of State 
who is fourth in line of succession to the President of the United 
States. Leaving the office vacant is irresponsible. It is irresponsible 
in that regard. It is irresponsible in terms of something happening in 
the world and not having a Secretary of State who could work to deal 
with it so that we could preserve our national security, promote our 
national interests, and stop something, an unintended consequence, from 
happening.

  Mr. Blinken has the qualifications. The challenges facing our country 
call for him to be confirmed, and I hope the Senate does not leave here 
tomorrow until he is confirmed.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Baldwin). The senior Senator from 
Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, I would ask unanimous consent that I be 
recognized for such time as I may consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, let me just say to my good friend from 
New Jersey how wholeheartedly I agree with him. I have known Tony 
Blinken for a long period of time. I have worked with him in different 
venues. I talked to him today at some length, and we talked together on 
many issues that I think are significant.
  One issue out there is the one we have been talking about in the 
Western Sahara. He understands the issues. So I join my friend from New 
Jersey in encouraging a fast and quick confirmation.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you.

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