Texas Sen. John Cornyn expresses confidence in Secretary of State Blinken

Texas Sen. John Cornyn expressed confidence in Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a speech Wednesday on the Senate floor.

Blinken was confirmed Tuesday on a 78-22 vote. Cornyn voted for the confirmation while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz voted against it.

“Antony Blinken has led an impressive career in the public sector and is well-versed in both the vast responsibilities of the State Department as well as the diplomatic challenges we will face in the months and years ahead,” Cornyn, R-Texas, said Wednesday in a Senate floor speech.

Blinken was deputy national security adviser from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.

Cornyn has expressed concerns with Blinken’s work in the private sector, noting Blinken is a founder of the consulting firm WestExec Advisors and has served as an adviser for the investment fund Pine Island Capital Partners.

“The truth of the matter is we have simply no idea what kind of business or financial relationships these individuals have with foreign powers that can influence their actions as high-ranking government officials,” Cornyn said in November, after Blinken was named as a nominee.

Despite this, Cornyn said Wednesday that he has “confidence in his ability to represent our nation on the global stage.”

Blinken received no such support from Cruz, who released a statement Tuesday condemning Blinken’s nomination mainly because of foreign policy differences over the United States’ relationship with Iran.

“The policies that Mr. Blinken has committed to implementing as Secretary of State, especially regarding Iran, will dangerously erode America’s national security and will put the Biden administration on a collision course with Congress, and I could not support his confirmation,” Cruz said.

Cruz specifically mentioned Blinken’s commitment to reentering the Obama administration nuclear deal with Iran, which first lifted economic sanctions and ended the international arms embargo on Iran in exchange for limiting its nuclear capacity in 2015.

“His approach to the Iranian regime is already generating tensions with Congress, and I will engage vigorously with the Biden administration and State Department to prevent and mitigate the dangers they pose to the safety and security of Americans,” he said Tuesday.