Attendance at President-elect Biden’s inauguration will be limited
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will no longer be meeting in person with Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to be Secretary of State at the department tomorrow, sources familiar with the meeting tell CNN.
It is not clear if the meeting will happen virtually, or if Blinken will still come to the State Department to meet with other officials from Pompeo’s staff.
The State Department said Wednesday that Pompeo is in quarantine, due to close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19.
More on the meeting: The meeting between Blinken and Pompeo was to mark the first formal recognition by President Trump’s top diplomat that he is preparing to hand over the reins of American foreign policy to his successor.
CNN reported earlier this week the meeting was scheduled to last for only 15 minutes, but State Department officials viewed it as a positive step.
In addition, Pompeo’s office has canceled two holiday gathering for foreign ambassadors in Washington that were scheduled to take place at the department today and where Pompeo was scheduled to give remarks, according to an internal schedule reviewed by CNN.
Yesterday Pompeo and his wife did not attend a separate holiday party hosted at the State Department yesterday, says a source familiar with the event.
Instead, Deputy Secretary of State, Steve Biegun, attended the event and gave remarks to the family members of US diplomats who serve in dangerous locations where they cannot being their family along, the source said. At the time, no reason was given for Pompeo skipping the event.
It remains unclear when Pompeo came into contact with the person who tested positive for Covid-19 and how long he will quarantine for. It’s also unclear when Pompeo will get the Covid-19 vaccine. Yesterday the department said in a memo that certain groups of US diplomats had been prioritized to get the doses in the first tranche, but would not say if Pompeo fell into any of the prioritized categorizes.
Last week Pompeo visited the White House on Friday and also spent time with his son and his new fiancé in Washignton, DC according to photos on his personal Twitter.
