{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-meets-with-antony-blinken-president-elect-bidens-nominee-for-secretary-of-state", "Murphy Meets With Antony Blinken, President-Elect Bidens Nominee For Secretary Of StateRead More", "2020-12-07", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Christopher Murphy", "M001169", "www.murphy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Murphy Meets With Antony Blinken, President-Elect Biden's Nominee For Secretary Of State \n        \n        December 07, 2020\n      \n        \n          WASHINGTONU.S.\r\nSenator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign\r\nRelations Committee, on Monday met virtually with President-elect Joe Biden's\r\nnominee for Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. The two discussed the need to\r\nrebuild the U.S. Department of State, how the U.S. can revitalize diplomacy in\r\nthe post-Trump era, and restoring Congress's role in foreign policy. Murphy\r\nreleased the following statement after their discussion: I've\r\nsaid from the start that Tony Blinken is an A+ choice for Secretary of State\r\nbecause of his experience and his willingness to make sure progressive ideas\r\nare included in President-elect Biden's foreign policy agenda,said Murphy.Ive\r\nbeen talking to Tony throughout the campaign and since the election\r\naboutmy belief that U.S. foreign policy has become too sclerotic. We have\r\nbecome overly reliant on sanctions to punish our enemies and arm sales to\r\nreward our partners, and we need to build a more effective toolkit to make\r\nourselves more competitive on the world stage. The State Department is going to\r\nneed a dramatic budget increase in order to do that. We had a good discussion\r\ntoday about this, and the many pressing foreign policy issues we will face as\r\nTrump leaves office. Murphy\r\ncontinued:Repairing relationships abroad, rejoining international\r\nagreements and tackling major global issues like climate change and trade will\r\nbe a Herculean task, and I know Tony can meet these challenges head on. I look\r\nforward to continuing to work together to make sure our progressive ideas are\r\nheard and that Congress plays a positive role in rebuilding an effective and\r\nstrategic foreign policy toolkit to meet the challenges we face today. Murphy also\r\nraised the need to de-securitize relationships in the Middle Eastspecifically\r\nfocusing on the latest proposed arms sale to the United Arab Emirates; how the\r\nUnited States can take a harder line with United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia\r\nto end the war in Yemen; the need for a new Asia Pacific trade agreement to\r\neffectively counter China; and the need for a coordinated, global response to\r\ntackle COVID-19. Last month,\r\nMurphypraisedBlinken's nomination for Secretary of State.\r\nMurphy also joinedCrooked Media's Pod Save the WorldandYahoo New's Skullduggeryto discuss Blinken's\r\nnomination. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-meets-with-antony-blinken-president-elect-bidens-nominee-for-secretary-of-state"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1955969277769327, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}