Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Tony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, for the first time at the State Department on Jan. 8.
A senior State Department official said the meeting was “very productive. Pompeo met with Blinken to “facilitate an orderly transition and ensure the protection of U.S. interests abroad,” the official said.
In a statement, the official said, “Secretary Pompeo and Secretary of State nominee Blinken, along with both teams, will continue to work together on behalf of the United States throughout the transition.”
A spokesman for the Biden transition team declined to comment. Reuters reported that it was unclear whether Pompeo would meet with Blinken in person or online, and CNN reported that Blinken arrived at the State Department at 1 p.m. Friday.
Secretary of State nominee Anthony Blinken speaks at the Queen’s Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, Nov. 24, 2020. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Blinken made his first trip to the State Department since Election Day on Nov. 3, when he attended a briefing on Dec. 17. But the two were unable to meet because Pompeo had to self-quarantine after coming into contact with someone infected with the disease.
Biden appointed Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, as his secretary of state on Nov. 23 last year.
The New York Times reported in November 2014 that Blinken was one of the architects of the Obama administration’s war against Islamic militants and also played a behind-the-scenes role in negotiations with Iran.
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