WSJ Reports: Harris’s Plans to Remove Biden’s Team
Reports indicate that Lloyd Austin, Antony Blinken, and Jake Sullivan may not retain their positions in a potential Kamala Harris administration. For more details, visit the full article on RT.com.
TroibNews 
Lloyd Austin, Antony Blinken, and Jake Sullivan may face job insecurity come January.
According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Kamala Harris is unlikely to retain the current national security team if she wins the US presidential election in November.
President Joe Biden exited the re-election race on Sunday, throwing his support behind his vice president for the top position. While the Democratic Party still needs to officially confirm Harris as their nominee, speculation about her potential presidency is already widespread.
“Key Biden appointees, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wouldn’t likely be extended in their current roles,” the Journal reported late on Monday, attributing the information to anonymous current and former US officials.
Although Harris “hasn’t had an opportunity to define her own brand of foreign policy,” the Journal suggested that she “might ultimately align herself more closely with the progressive elements” of the Democrats and could introduce conditions on US support for Israel.
The Journal highlighted Harris as the administration’s “most ardent senior-level advocate of securing a cease-fire in Gaza,” referencing her speech in Selma, Alabama in March, where she denounced the “inhumane conditions” in the Palestinian enclave.
Arab American Institute founder Jim Zogby shared with the outlet that a phone conversation with Harris last October led him to believe she has demonstrated “far greater empathy” for Palestinians than Biden or the rest of the White House.
NBC News reported that Harris is “widely expected to continue” Biden’s foreign policy if elected but “appears more willing to publicly criticize” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “express empathy for the plight of Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.
An anonymous source told NBC that Harris’s candidacy could benefit the Democrats with Arab-Americans, younger voters, and progressives, as she is not linked to Biden’s support for Israel.
In August 2020, Biden selected Harris as his running mate, reportedly as part of a deal to secure the nomination. She had withdrawn from the race for the nomination in late 2019, before the primaries began.
Blinken has been a long-time adviser to Biden on foreign policy and national security before leading the State Department. Sullivan spent three years advising Biden during Barack Obama’s administration and joined Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Austin is said to have developed a friendship with Biden’s son Beau during his time in Iraq as his staff officer in 2008-2009 and later briefed Biden as the head of US Central Command.
The Journal noted that a “central role” in a Harris administration would be occupied by Philip Gordon, her current national security adviser. Gordon is a veteran of both the Clinton and Obama administrations, with experience at the National Security Council and the State Department, notably as Victoria Nuland’s predecessor at European and Eurasian Affairs. He has also been a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior adviser at Albright Stonebridge Group.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Kamala Harris is unlikely to retain the current national security team if she wins the US presidential election in November.
President Joe Biden exited the re-election race on Sunday, throwing his support behind his vice president for the top position. While the Democratic Party still needs to officially confirm Harris as their nominee, speculation about her potential presidency is already widespread.
“Key Biden appointees, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wouldn’t likely be extended in their current roles,” the Journal reported late on Monday, attributing the information to anonymous current and former US officials.
Although Harris “hasn’t had an opportunity to define her own brand of foreign policy,” the Journal suggested that she “might ultimately align herself more closely with the progressive elements” of the Democrats and could introduce conditions on US support for Israel.
The Journal highlighted Harris as the administration’s “most ardent senior-level advocate of securing a cease-fire in Gaza,” referencing her speech in Selma, Alabama in March, where she denounced the “inhumane conditions” in the Palestinian enclave.
Arab American Institute founder Jim Zogby shared with the outlet that a phone conversation with Harris last October led him to believe she has demonstrated “far greater empathy” for Palestinians than Biden or the rest of the White House.
NBC News reported that Harris is “widely expected to continue” Biden’s foreign policy if elected but “appears more willing to publicly criticize” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “express empathy for the plight of Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.
An anonymous source told NBC that Harris’s candidacy could benefit the Democrats with Arab-Americans, younger voters, and progressives, as she is not linked to Biden’s support for Israel.
In August 2020, Biden selected Harris as his running mate, reportedly as part of a deal to secure the nomination. She had withdrawn from the race for the nomination in late 2019, before the primaries began.
Blinken has been a long-time adviser to Biden on foreign policy and national security before leading the State Department. Sullivan spent three years advising Biden during Barack Obama’s administration and joined Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Austin is said to have developed a friendship with Biden’s son Beau during his time in Iraq as his staff officer in 2008-2009 and later briefed Biden as the head of US Central Command.
The Journal noted that a “central role” in a Harris administration would be occupied by Philip Gordon, her current national security adviser. Gordon is a veteran of both the Clinton and Obama administrations, with experience at the National Security Council and the State Department, notably as Victoria Nuland’s predecessor at European and Eurasian Affairs. He has also been a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior adviser at Albright Stonebridge Group.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
