By Geoff Bennett, Carol E. Lee, and Amanda Golden - NBC News
WILMINGTON.
—Antony Blinken, a longtime diplomat and foreign policy adviser to now-president-elect Joe Biden, is long-time the top choice for the post of secretary of state in the future Administration, multiple sources reported to NBC News.
A member of the transition team said Blinken is the most likely candidate for the position, but cannot confirm the nomination until Biden makes the official announcement.
The top government positions held by Blinken include having served as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2015 during the Barack Obama Administration, and as Under Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017.
[Biden will be the oldest president in history. And that's good and bad]
NBC News had previously reported that Blinken was a favorite for secretary of state.
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In addition, on Monday, different sources who know the president-elect's plans told NBC News that Biden is expected to nominate Jake Sullivan as National Security adviser, and Linda Thomas-Greenfield as United States ambassador to the United Nations.
Sullivan served in the Obama Administration as a National Security Advisor to Biden, then Vice President, before serving as Director of Policy Planning at the State Department and as Deputy Chief of Staff to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Thomas-Greenfield served as Deputy Secretary of State for Africa from 2013 to 2017 under Obama.
A source familiar with the transition team's plans said Biden's first Cabinet elections will be in the areas of diplomacy and national security.
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Sunday that Biden will begin announcing his elect on Tuesday.