Pompeo says U.S. State Department transition process started

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday indicated that the State Department has begun the transition process after the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that must sign off on presidential transitions, on Monday told President-elect Joe Biden he could formally begin the handover.

"Today we began the process to see what the GSA's decision was, and will do everything that's required by law. We'll make this work," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News.

The projected winner of the U.S. presidential election Joe Biden's team welcomed the formal start of the transitional process.

America is back: Biden

The United States will be "ready to lead" again on the global stage, turning the page on incumbent President Donald Trump's "America First" policies as he pledged to work together with the nation's allies, Biden said on Tuesday.

Former Vice President and projected winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election Joe Biden speaks with his wife Jill at his side during a primary night speech at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 10, 2020. /Reuters

Introducing his foreign policy and national security team, the Democratic former vice president signaled he intended after taking office on January 20 to steer the United States away from the unilateralist nationalism pursued by Trump.

The Republican incumbent over four years unsettled many U.S. allies, in Europe and elsewhere, with an antagonistic approach toward the NATO alliance and trade relations, abandonment of international agreements and warm relationships with authoritarian leaders.

Biden said his team, which includes trusted aide Antony Blinken as his nominee for U.S. secretary of state, would shed what he described as "old thinking and unchanged habits" in its approach to foreign relations.

"It's a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it, once again sit at the head of the table, ready to confront our adversaries and not reject our allies, ready to stand up for our values," Biden said at the event in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

U.S. foreign policy under a Biden administration is likely to take more of a multilateral and diplomatic approach aimed at repairing Washington's relationships with key allies and pursuing new paths on issues such as climate change.

Biden said he had been struck in calls with roughly 20 world leaders "by how much they're looking forward to the United States reasserting its historic role as a global leader."

(With input from Reuters)