United States Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield testifies during for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington.
The longtime career diplomat thanked President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, who swore her in on Wednesday, for choosing her for the ādistinguished positionā and said she was āthrilledā to be at the United Nations.
āThe United Nations is the worldās most important forum for bringing people and countries together,ā Thomas-Greenfield told reporters immediately afterward.
AdHer confirmation on Tuesday was hailed by Democrats and advocates of the United Nations who had lamented āAmerica Firstā unilateral approach to international affairs and rejoiced at Bidenās return to multilateralism.
Guterres warmly welcomed Thomas-Greenfield, calling the United States āa fundamental pillar of the United Nations and of international cooperation" and telling her, āyou are not only a very distinguished diplomat, but a very passionate citizen of the world," with a strong commitment to refugees.