3. Early test for Biden Doctrine
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
President-elect Biden’s foreign policy team could just about have been assembled by returning to President Obama’s second term and playing a round of musical chairs.
The big picture: Nearly all of the three-dozen picks announced thus far served under Obama, often in positions adjacent to those they’ll now hold.
- The State Department, for example, will be led by two people — Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Wendy Sherman as his deputy — who previously served just one rung below their new jobs.
What to watch: One early test will be Biden’s plan to revive Obama’s signature foreign policy achievement, the Iran nuclear deal.
- Most of the deal’s negotiators and fiercest advocates, including Sherman and incoming climate czar John Kerry, are joining Biden’s team. Go deeper.
Who to watch: Jake Sullivan, 44, will be the youngest national security adviser since the Kennedy administration.
