U.S. Foreign Policy Monitor: What Allies and Partners Need to Know - December 4

by
GMF Editorial Staff
7 min read
Photo Credit: Christos S / Shutterstock
Welcome to the U.S. Foreign Policy Monitor where every week we track the “who,” “what,” and “so what” for the new U.S. administration and Congress.
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Welcome to the U.S. Foreign Policy Monitor where every week we track the “who,” “what,” and “so what” for the new U.S. administration and Congress. This week we take a closer look at the mechanics of the transition process and some news on NATO. Sign up here to receive every Friday in your inbox.

The Topline

While many Americans gathered around the dinner table to celebrate Thanksgiving, President-elect Joe Biden’s team continued to announce administration appointments and nominations. Among those were his choice to direct the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden. This position plays a crucial role in implementing the president’s agenda across various agencies. The immediate reaction from Republican Senators to her nomination could foreshadow some uphill confirmation battles—a reality that Biden has acknowledged, saying “they’re going to pick a couple of people just to fight [over] no matter what.” 

President-elect Biden announced an all-female senior communications team led by Kate Bedingfield. It will play a key role in messaging the administration’s various policies, informing the American public, and engaging the foreign and domestic press. Reports suggest the team will restart the daily press briefing in a bid to “return to normalcy.”

Allies are also preparing for the incoming administration. On Monday, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that he invited President-elect Biden to a NATO Summit early next year. A key focus will be the future of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, following President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce the U.S. military footprint in the country by January 15. Several other issues will also need to be discussed by the NATO heads of state and government, including the continued pandemic response and deterrence efforts, as well as Stoltenberg’s NATO 2030 initiative to shape the alliance’s future. 

 

So What - In Focus This Week

GMF Senior Fellow and Advisor to the President Jamie Fly talks about the mechanics of the transition process. Watch the 20-minute video.

Who to Watch

Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo is the nominee to serve as deputy treasury secretary. He currently works as the president of the Obama Foundation and as a senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Economics Program. Turning 40 next year, Adeyemo has experienced a meteoric rise by Washington standards. During the Obama administration, he served in economic policy roles—starting as executive secretary to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Showing an ability to navigate liberal and centrist policy circles, Adeyemo then operated as chief of staff for Elizabeth Warren at the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He returned to the Treasury and then concluded his tenure in government as deputy national security advisor and deputy director of the National Economic Council, where he represented President Barack Obama at the G7 and G20 and coordinated international economic policy across the government. Born in Nigeria to an elementary-school principal and a nurse, Adeyemo’s family immigrated to Southern California when he was a child. If confirmed, Adeyemo will be the first Black deputy secretary of the treasury.

  • Check out this webinar from CSIS’ Economics Program that features Adeyemo.
  • Adeyemo writes about the dangers of protectionism in this 2017 opinion piece for The Guardian.
  • To learn more about Adeyemo’s background, read this transcript from his 2015 Senate confirmation hearing to serve as assistant secretary for international markets and development.

President-elect Biden nominated Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as secretary of homeland security. In this position he will be responsible for a broad portfolio ranging from cyber security to the Coast Guard, border security, immigration, and terrorism. Mayorkas currently is a partner at the law firm WilmerHale. He served in several senior positions in the Obama administration, including as deputy secretary of homeland security and director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He spent over a decade as a federal prosecutor, ultimately as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California during the Clinton presidency. The son of a Holocaust survivor and born in Havana, Mayorkas and his family fled Cuba and came to the United States as political refugees in the 1960s. If confirmed, Mayorkas will be the first Latino and immigrant to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

  • To see Mayorkas in action during the Obama administration, check out C-SPAN’s archive of footage featuring him.
  • To learn more about Mayorkas’ background, read this transcript from his 2013 Senate confirmation hearing to serve as deputy secretary of homeland security.

 

What to Read

People and Appointments:

“Biden’s economic team set to prepare ambitious recovery plan, challenging Republicans’ renewed debt worries,” David J. Lynch, The Washington Post.

“President-elect Joe Biden’s choice of economic advisers highlights a commitment to spend whatever is needed to restore a full-employment economy, setting up a clash with Senate Republicans who are sounding alarms over a national debt they helped President Trump increase by nearly $7 trillion…. The Biden team’s push for government borrowing to fill the pandemic-size hole in the economy also reflects a broader shift in some leading economists’ view of public debt.”

“Anticipating Senate bottlenecks, Biden races to fill agency jobs,” Nahal Toosi, Tyler Pager and Andrew Desiderio, Politico.

“The shift in focus to filling positions that do not require confirmation reflects the urgency with which the Biden team sees its staffing conundrum — especially in the realm of national security, where there’s little room for error. It also signals Biden’s anxiousness to replace Trump appointees and fill long-empty positions as soon as possible so he can enact his agenda.”

“Biden's delay in picking a defense secretary opens top contenders to uncomfortable scrutiny,” Zachary Cohen, Jeff Zeleny and Gregory Krieg, CNN.

“President-elect Joe Biden enters the month of December with a question still looming over one of the most critical decisions in his Cabinet: Who will he nominate to be Secretary of Defense?...But Biden's delay in naming a nominee is giving space and time for critics to air their complaints -- and the corporate connections of all three candidates are giving progressive Democrats grounds to object.”

“Biden Eyes Humanitarian Experts to Lead U.S. Agency for International Development,” Robbie Gramer and Colum Lynch, Foreign Policy.

“Whomever Biden ultimately picks to lead USAID will have their work cut out for them. The global coronavirus pandemic has strained already limited resources to deal with spiraling humanitarian crises and heightened health risks for U.S. aid officials and other humanitarian aid organizations across the world.”

 

Policy & Recommendations

“Biden: ‘We’re Going to Fight Like Hell by Investing in America First’,” Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times.

Biden had a lot to say about how he intends to approach the current Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and his Republican colleagues in order to get his cabinet nominees — and as much of his agenda as possible — through the Senate; how he intends to reshape U.S.-China strategy; and why he is ready to return to the Iran nuclear deal, if Iran does, and end President Trump’s sanctions on Iran.”

“The Biggest Challenge Facing Joe Biden’s New Economic Team,” John Cassidy, The New Yorker.

“The new team consists largely of people who have advocated a vigorous response to the coronavirus pandemic and a longer-term emphasis on raising wages, reducing inequality, and fostering greener, more inclusive growth. (Not coincidentally, these are all key elements of the “Build Back Better” platform that Biden laid out during the election campaign.)”

“What Yellen Must Do,” Joseph E. Stiglitz, Project Syndicate.

“The US desperately needs large rescue programs targeted specifically at the most vulnerable households and sectors. The resulting debt from increased spending should not be viewed as a hindrance, given the enormous cost of doing too little. “

“China Thinks America Is Losing: Washington Must Show Beijing It’s Wrong,” Julian Gewirtz, Foreign Affairs.

“The United States can craft a strategy that much more effectively deters China’s most problematic behavior. But to do so, Washington must endeavor to upend Chinese leaders’ assumption that the United States is inexorably declining.”

“Climate Change, National Security, & the New Commander-in-Chief,” Mark Nevitt, Just Security.

“In addition to regulatory action under the Clean Air Act and similar authorities, Biden possesses broad constitutional authorities independent of Congress to address the climate-security impacts. I highlight four below, to include: (1) appointing key personnel that prioritize climate change as a security issue; (2) reducing our carbon emissions across the federal government; (3) safeguarding critical national security infrastructure; and (4) responding to climate-exacerbated conflicts and natural disasters at home and abroad.”

“Biden’s chief of staff has battled pandemics before. Here's how he plans to beat this one,” Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico.

“Klain's experience coordinating the Ebola response taught him that managing a disease outbreak has to be full-time job and the person doing it has to be as close to the levers of power as possible — a model he'll bring to the Biden White House as they work to bring Covid-19 under control.”

 

What’s Happening @GMF