Joe Biden, the US president-elect, has announced the most senior positions in his national security team, selecting Antony Blinken as secretary of state, Jake Sullivan as national security adviser, and John Kerry as special presidential envoy on climate.
Mr Biden’s move on Monday marked his first big step to fill his cabinet ahead of his January inauguration, even though US president Donald Trump has still refused to accept defeat in the election and declined to start the transition.
Mr Biden’s other key appointments on the national security side included Avril Haines as director of national intelligence, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as US ambassador to the United Nations, and Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of homeland security.