WASHINGTON, December 21 (RIA Novosti) Calling him the “perfect choice,” US President Barack Obama on Friday nominated former Democratic presidential nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as the nation’s next secretary of state.
“Over the years, John has earned the respect and confidence of leaders around the world. He is not going to need a lot of on-the-job training,” Obama said.
Kerry, 69, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was narrowly defeated by Republican incumbent George W. Bush in the 2004 US presidential election.
A decorated Vietnam War veteran, Kerry was not Obama’s first choice for the job. Obama originally planned to nominate Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations.
Rice pulled her name from consideration for the post amid scathing criticism from Republican members of Congress over public statements she made in the wake of the Sept. 11 attack on a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, including the US ambassador to the country Christopher Stevens.
Rice suggested in televised comments that the attack was connected to spontaneous protests over a YouTube video denigrating Islam. US officials later stated that it was, in fact, a planned attack by armed militants.
Obama repeatedly defended Rice, saying her comments were based on the intelligence available to her at the time.
Kerry’s nomination will be sent to the US Senate for confirmation, where he has support from both Democrats and Republicans.
Clinton, seen by many as a possible Democratic nominee in the 2016 presidential election, said earlier this year she plans to step down at the conclusion of Obama’s first term as president.
