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Delays on Biden's Secretary of State Nominee Put National Security At Risk
Reports show Blinken’s nomination has been stalled by Senate Republicans in Committee “It is unacceptable that Senate Republicans wasted valuable time dragging their feet on Antony Blinken’s nomination, putting our national security at risk”
WASHINGTON
Today, reporting revealed that delays in the Senate make it unlikely that President-elect Biden's nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will have a confirmation hearing before Inauguration Day. This would be the first time in 10 transitions of power that the incoming president's pick for State wouldn't have a hearing or have already been confirmed prior to January 20th. Blinken was one of President-elect Biden's first Cabinet picks on November 24, 2020. According to reports, Blinken completed paperwork on December 31, but his nomination has stalled as Senate Republicans worked to obstruct a speedy confirmation process. By contrast, President Trump's pick for secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, came before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 11, 2017, and President Obama's first pick for the department, Hillary Clinton, had her hearing on January 13, 2009.
Since President-elect Biden's victory, President Trump and his allies in the Senate have done everything in their power to block a smooth transition to the next administration -- including on matters of national security -- and to slow-walk the confirmation process for Biden's nominees. Senate Republicans have known since the election that they were going to maintain control of the Senate during the transition period, meaning the delays for Blinken and other national security nominees lay squarely at their feet. Earlier today, the Accountable Senate War Room released an in-depth memo outlining how, with less than two weeks until Inauguration Day, Senate Republicans are already dramatically behind on the Cabinet nomination process and why these delays put Americans' national security and public health interests at an even greater risk.
"It is unacceptable that Senate Republicans wasted valuable time dragging their feet on Antony Blinken's nomination, effectively putting our national security at risk when President-elect Biden takes office in nine days," said Mairead Lynn, spokesperson for the Accountable Senate War Room. "It is time for Senate Republicans to stop slow-walking Blinken's nomination and get to work advancing the President-elect's steady, competent choice for secretary of state."
Read more in Accountable Senate War Room's MEMO
Watchdog group Accountable.US recently launched the Accountable Senate War Room to fight back against those lawmakers who seek to overturn the will of the people by standing in the way of the smooth transition of power and the swift approval of nominees to ensure that the government can function and deliver results for the American people.
Accountable.US is a nonpartisan watchdog that exposes corruption in public life and holds government officials and corporate special interests accountable by bringing their influence and misconduct to light. In doing so, we make way for policies that advance the interests of all Americans, not just the rich and powerful.
LATEST NEWS
US Public Support for Immigration Reaches Record High Amid Trump Mass Deportation Efforts
Eighty-five percent of Americans now support "allowing immigrants, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, the chance to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time," according to Gallup.
Jul 11, 2025
Americans' support for immigration in the United States is at a record high despite the fact that American voters mere months ago elected a president who ran on enacting the largest deportation operation in the country's history.
A new poll from Gallup shows that 79% of Americans think that immigration is a good thing for the country, which is the highest number ever recorded in Gallup's 24-year history of measuring U.S. voters' attitudes on the immigration.
Furthermore, the Gallup poll shows that 85% of Americans now support "allowing immigrants, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, the chance to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time" and 78% support "allowing immigrants living in the U.S. illegally the chance to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time."
Support for deporting all undocumented immigrants back to their home countries, meanwhile, garners just 38% support from Americans, which is a drop of nine percentage points from the 47% of Americans who said they supported deporting all undocumented immigrants one year ago.
Voters surveyed in the poll also had decidedly negative views of U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of immigration, as just 35% approved of how he was handling the issue while 62% disapproved. The numbers get even worse for Trump when it comes to Latino voters, who were a key constituency that Trump made major gains with in the 2024 presidential election.
"At 21%, Hispanic Americans' approval of Trump’s handling of immigration is 14 points below the national average," writes Gallup. "With respect to immigration levels, Hispanic adults are slightly more likely than U.S. adults overall to say immigration should be decreased (39% vs. 30%, respectively) as well as to consider immigration a bad thing (25% vs. 17%), but the majority in both cases still express pro-immigration views."
The low support for Trump's immigration policies in the Gallup poll is notable because polls in the past have consistently shown that it's his strongest issue among American voters.
Aggregated polling data compiled by data analyst G. Elliott Morris have consistently shown that Trump has higher approval on immigration than on other major issues, although that support has also fallen over the last several months. Back in February, Trump's net approval on handling immigration was +10.8 percentage points, whereas today his net approval on the issue stands at -3.2 percentage points.
The new data on immigration comes as the Trump administration has been launching high-profile raids of workplaces suspected of employing undocumented immigrants, including a Thursday afternoon raid of a farm in Camarillo, California that drew significant local protest.
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'A Slap in the Face': Missouri's GOP Governor Repeals Voter-Approved Paid Sick Leave
"The governor's action today demonstrates the absolute disdain Republicans have for working Missourians."
Jul 11, 2025
Missouri's Republican governor on Thursday signed legislation repealing the paid sick leave portion of a ballot measure that the state's voters approved with nearly 60% support in the 2024 election.
The short-lived provision, which will officially be repealed on August 28, required Missouri employers to provide workers with an hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours of work. Businesses with 15 or more employees were required to provide up to 56 hours of earned paid sick time per year, and businesses with fewer than 15 employees were required to provide at least 40 hours of paid sick time.
The Missouri Budget Project estimated before its passage that the ballot measure's paid sick leave benefits would reach 728,000 private-sector workers in the state.
The bill that Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed Thursday, known as H.B. 567, also restricts increases in the state's minimum wage. The voter-approved initiative called for raising the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2026 and indexing it to inflation thereafter. H.B. 567 eliminates the inflation adjustment.
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a business lobbying group, characterized H.B. 567 as its top legislative priority. The bill was led by state Rep. Sherri Gallick (R-62) and state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-6).
Kehoe's Facebook post announcing his signature was deluged with comments from Missourians decrying the governor's decision to overturn the will of the public.
"We the people collected signatures," wrote one commenter. "We voted. And we passed Prop A into law. Remember you work for us. How dare you reverse the voice of your people?! The people you took an oath to serve."
Missouri Jobs With Justice, which helped lead the campaign for the ballot measure, said in a statement that "with Governor Kehoe's decision to sign H.B. 567 into law, workers will again face increased economic insecurity when balancing being sick with maintaining their job."
The group noted that Kehoe's support for repealing paid sick leave came after he "recently called a special session to approve spending millions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize billionaire-owned stadiums." On Thursday, Kehoe also signed legislation slashing the state's capital gains tax.
"Simply put, Missouri workers and their families do not deserve to see their newly earned paid sick leave stripped away," said Missouri Jobs With Justice. "Not only is this a slap in the face to workers asking for an opportunity to earn paid sick leave, it’s an insult to over 57% of Missourians who voted for Proposition A in November."
Throughout the process of pushing H.B. 567 through the Legislature, Missouri Republicans openly voiced contempt for voters who supported the paid sick leave and minimum wage initiative. One GOP lawmaker, state Rep. Mitch Boggs, said, "Of course the people voted for it."
"It'd be like asking your teenager if he wanted a checkbook," said Boggs.
State Rep. Ashley Aune (D-14), the Democratic leader in the Missouri House, said Thursday that "the governor's action today demonstrates the absolute disdain Republicans have for working Missourians."
"But in stripping workers of their legal right to earned sick leave," Aune added, "the governor and his allies have probably guaranteed this issue will be back on the ballot next year as a constitutional amendment that will place worker protections beyond their reach."
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Mahmoud Khalil to Sue Trump Admin for $20 Million Over 'Unconstitutional' Detention
"There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power," said Khalil. "And I won't stop here."
Jul 10, 2025
Pro-Palestinian student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil on Thursday began the process of suing U.S. President Donald Trump's administration for $20 million in damages for the harm he suffered as a result of the government's "politically motivated plan to unlawfully arrest, detain, and deport" him.
"This is the first step towards accountability," Khalil said in a statement. "Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss. But let's be clear, the same government that targeted me for speaking out is using taxpayer dollars to fund Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza."
"There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power," he asserted. "And I won't stop here. I will continue to pursue justice against everyone who contributed to my unlawful detention or spread lies in an attempt to destroy my reputation, including those affiliated with Columbia University. I'm holding the U.S. government accountable not just for myself, but for everyone they try to silence through fear, exile, or detention."
In March, federal agents who were in plain clothes and lacked a warrant accosted Khalil, a lawful permanent resident who recently finished a graduate program at Columbia, and his wife—Noor Abdalla, a U.S. citizen who was then pregnant with their son—outside their New York City home. Following Khalil's arrest, several other student activists critical of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on Gaza were also targeted for deportation.
The claim that 30-year-old Khalil filed Thursday against the U.S. Homeland Security and State departments, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is a precursor to a lawsuit that will cite the Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), part of his legal team.
The filing accuses the Trump administration of carrying out a plan to deport Khalil "in a manner calculated to terrorize him and his family," and says the mistreatment caused "severe emotional distress, economic hardship, damage to his reputation, and significant impairment of his First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights."
Mahmoud Khalil has filed a claim against the Trump administration, seeking either $20 million or an official apology and change in the administration’s policy after he was held in detention for over 100 days. NBC News’ Maya Eaglin spoke to Khalil in New York City.
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— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) July 10, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Khalil, an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent who was finally freed from an ICE facility in Louisiana last month, is seeking $20 million to help others similarly targeted by the government and Columbia, but "he would accept, in lieu of payment, an official apology and abandonment of the administration's unconstitutional policy," CCR explained.
The Associated Press reported that "a White House spokesperson deferred comment to the State Department, which said its actions were fully supported by the law. In an emailed statement, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, called Khalil's claim 'absurd,' accusing him of 'hateful behavior and rhetoric' that threatened Jewish students."
While the departments' comments signal that the Trump administration won't be making any apologies, Khalil's team is determined to move forward with his case.
"The Trump administration's unconstitutional targeting of Mr. Khalil led to severe harms that he continues to navigate, including financial loss, reputational damage, and emotional distress," said Samah Sisay, staff attorney at CCR. "Mr. Khalil will never get back the three months stolen from him while in immigration detention, including his child's birth and first months of life. The government must take accountability for their unlawful actions and compensate Mr. Khalil for his suffering."
Khalil's claim was filed a day after an ICE official testified under oath that a task force formed in March used lists from Canary Mission, an operation linked to Israeli intelligence agencies, and the pro-Israel group Betar Worldwide to compile reports on international students targeted for their protest activities.
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