US President-elect Joe Biden announces key figures for his cabinet

US President-elect Joe Biden has announced key figures for his cabinet, picking longtime foreign policy advisor Antony Blinken to be his secretary of state and former US chief diplomat John Kerry as his special climate envoy.

Mr Biden also nominated the Cuba-born lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas, to lead the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration.

He picked Avril Haines, the former deputy CIA director, as his director of national intelligence, the first woman to



ever hold that position.

Mr Biden also said that long-time diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield will be nominated to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations, with status as a cabinet member.

Jake Sullivan, who was a security aide to Mr Biden when he was vice president, was appointed White House national security advisor.

All are veterans of the former 2009-2017 Obama-Biden administration and deeply experienced in their fields.