He'll be taking along mixed company of republicans and democrats: incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry, and Senators Jack Reed, Susan Collins and Lindsey Graham of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Politico: Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s office announced Monday that he’ll take a “fact-finding” trip to Southwest Asia – amid reports in Pakistan that Biden would travel there to discuss India-Pakistan relations.
What’s unusual about the trip is that Biden’s isn’t going as vice-president-elect, but as the outgoing chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His office didn’t say why.
But it did allude to the unusual nature of Biden’s visit, saying, “The fact-finding delegation will make it clear to foreign leaders that they are not there to speak on behalf of the U.S. government, or convey policy positions for the incoming administration.”
"The purpose of this trip is fact-finding: in the coming months both the executive and legislative branches will carefully review U.S. policy toward this region, and the trip will allow its participants to bring current and first-hand information to these reviews,” the statement said.
