Congressional Delegations

Your morning global affairs speed-read

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a newly minted member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, unveils his vision for a “conservative foreign policy” at 11 a.m. at the Heritage Foundation. Watch it live here.

John Kerry gets publicly sworn in as secretary of State by Vice President Biden at 4 p.m. Watch it live here. Kerry was officially sworn in at a private ceremony by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. 

South of the border: The Inter-American Dialogue releases its report outlining “A More Ambitious Agenda” for U.S. relations with Mexico.

Muslims meet: The crises in Syria and Mali are expected to be high on the agenda as the 56 members of the Organization of Islamic States meet in Cairo, Egypt, for their two-day summit.

Acting Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin meets with Democratic Republic of the Congo Prime Minister Matata Ponyo.

And former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is headed to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) blasted Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) over a joke the former Republican presidential nominee made comparing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the monkey that Iran reportedly sent into space last week.

On Monday, Ahmadinejad told the Islamic Republic News Agency that he wanted to be the first Iranian astronaut sent into space, saying he was willing to risk his life for the mission. The Iranian president said the country hopes to send an astronaut into space within the next six years.

McCain, playing off that news — and unconfirmed reports that the Iranian government last week sent a monkey into space — cracked a joke at the Iranian leader's expense.

So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space - wasn't he just there last week? "Iran launches monkey into space" news.yahoo.com/iran-launches-…

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 4, 2013

The new secretary of State said his goal is to "live up to the high standards" set by Hillary Clinton.

Forty-three percent of voters view Hillary Clinton more favorably following her four-year tenure at the State Department.

John Kerry is now the nation's 68th secretary of State.

Kerry was sworn in Friday afternoon at a private ceremony on Capitol Hill by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. He is expected to have a public swearing-in ceremony sometime next week, and his arrival at the State Department at 9 a.m. on Monday will be televised.

Kerry is the first chairman of the Senate Foreign Services Committee to become secretary of State in more than a century, according to his State Department biography. He was sworn in in front of a bust of former secretary of State and United Nations champion Cordell Hull, CNN reported, and received his Senate floor chair as a parting gift from his staff.

Hillary Clinton bade an emotional goodbye Friday as hundreds of State employees jam-packed the agency's lobby to see her off.

Kerry's comments appear to be aimed at dispelling the impression that he wasn't Obama's first choice for secretary of State.

Clinton says attacks won't affect her decision on whether to run for the White House. 

Your morning global affairs speed-read

After almost a million miles traveled over the past four years, today is Hillary Clinton's last day as secretary of State. She'll mark the occasion with a farewell address to her staff at the State Department at about 2:30 p.m., which you can view here.

The Washington Post considers her legacy at State here.

John Kerry will then get sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan at a private ceremony at about 4 p.m. Kerry introduced Kagan at her 2010 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee after having worked with her on tobacco legislation when she was counsel to former President Clinton.

Kerry has already begun to prepare for his new role, starting with the hiring of a Boston Globe editor to become an adviser on strategic communications.

Embassy attack: A U.S. embassy guard was killed this morning by a suspected suicide bomber in Turkey, The Associated Press reports.

Superbowl spending: Did you know the Superbowl has as many volunteers as the Peace Corps? Or that a 30-second ad costs as much as 800,000 mosquito nets? The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition puts the costs — and benefits — of U.S. foreign aid in perspective here.

The father of U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a former ambassador, has died at the age of 90.

Christopher Van Hollen Sr. served with the State Department for 25 years, starting as a foreign affairs analyst in 1951. He moved up the ranks to deputy assistant secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, from 1969 to 1972, and as ambassador to Sri Lanka, from 1972 to 1976.