From the early days of its campaign, the Biden administration has telegraphed its desire to recommit to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. That was easier said than done: then-Secretary of State John Kerry flipped counterproliferation precedent on its head when he both agreed to Iran maintaining the industrial base that it had previously used to pursue covert nuclear weapons-related technology and when he acquiesced to sunset clauses.

Certainly, Iran will loom large when Anthony Blinken, a longtime Joe Biden aide, goes before the Senate for his confirmation hearing. Republicans may grumble at some of Blinken’s policy preferences, but elections matter. There is simply is no reason to reject Blinken. He is a seasoned foreign policy hand and competent manager. He listens to Republicans even when he does not agree with them. As deputy secretary of state between 2015 and 2017, he ran the day-to-day affairs of the State Department while Kerry flew around the world, visiting territories and countries from Antarctica to Vietnam while treating mileage flown like a metric of success.