This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/us/politics/kerry-is-pick-for-secretary-of-state-official-says.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Kerry Is Pick for Secretary of State, Official Says Obama Nominates Kerry for Secretary of State
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to nominate Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts as secretary of state, a senior administration official said. He would succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton and become the first member of Mr. Obama’s second-term national security team. WASHINGTON — President Obama nominated Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts as secretary of state, choosing an elder of the Democratic Party’s foreign policy establishment and a crucial political ally in the Senate to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The appointment of Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and his party’s former presidential nominee in 2004, has been widely expected since last week, when Susan E. Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations, asked Mr. Obama to withdraw her candidacy for the post. “In a sense, John’s entire life has prepared him for this role,” Mr. Obama said, making the widely expected announcement at the White House. “He’s not going to need a lot of on-the-job training.”
Ms. Rice had come under weeks of attack from Republicans in Congress over her role in the aftermath of the deadly attack on the United States mission in Benghazi, Libya. Mr. Kerry, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, oversaw a hearing on Benghazi on Thursday, at which the State Department came under renewed criticism for its failure to respond to requests for additional security in Libya. With Mr. Kerry standing at his side, the president praised Mr. Kerry’s combat service in the Vietnam War and his three decades in the Senate, which Mr. Obama said had placed him at the heart of “every major foreign policy debate for the past 30 years.”
The decision by Mr. Obama, expected to be announced early Friday afternoon, comes at a time when Mrs. Clinton has been recovering from a concussion suffered earlier this month. Mrs. Clinton, who has long said she would leave the post after Mr. Obama’s first term, is not expected to attend the announcement. Mr. Kerry, the president said, had also earned the respect of his Senate colleagues and expressed confidence that he would be quickly confirmed. In recent weeks, Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, has jokingly referred to his colleague as “Mr. Secretary.”
An elder of the Democratic foreign-policy establishment, Mr. Kerry, 69, has long coveted the job of secretary of state. He built close ties to Mr. Obama, giving him the keynote speech assignment that helped begin his national political career at the Democratic convention in 2004 and becoming an early Senate supporter of Mr. Obama’s presidential run. Mr. Obama’s first choice for the job, Susan E. Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations, asked Mr. Obama to withdraw her name last week after Mr. McCain and other Republicans threatened to block her nomination because of statements she made after the lethal attack on the American mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Mr. Kerry has carried out several diplomatic missions for the Obama administration, helping to persuade President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to agree to a runoff election in 2009. Early in the administration, he also tried to engage President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who has waged a brutal crackdown on his own people as he fights to cling to power. In addition to Mr. Kerry’s foreign-policy credentials, Mr. Obama noted that he had supported the president’s political career at key moments — not least, he said, by inviting a “young Illinois state senator to address the Democratic National Convention in 2004.”
President Obama does not intend to name a new secretary of defense or director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Friday, an official said. Mr. Kerry, 69, was his party’s presidential candidate in that election, losing to George W. Bush. He is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has carried out several diplomatic missions for the Obama administration, helping to persuade President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to agree to a runoff election in 2009. Early in the administration, he also tried to engage President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who has waged a brutal crackdown on his own people as he fights to cling to power.
One of the front-runners for the Pentagon post, former Senator Chuck Hagel, is fighting off a series of criticisms of his record, not unlike the campaign that dogged Ms. Rice. The White House has defended Mr. Hagel, though officials said on Thursday that Mr. Obama had not yet decided whom to nominate for that post. During the last campaign he also played the role of Mitt Romney in Mr. Obama’s debate preparations.
The contest for C.I.A. has come down to two names: Michael J. Morrell, the current acting director, and John O. Brennan, the president’s counterterrorism adviser. “Nothing brings two people closer together than two weeks of debate prep,” the president joked. “John, I’m looking forward to working with you rather than debating you.”
Mr. Kerry has long coveted the job of secretary of state.
Mrs. Clinton, who is recovering from the effects of a concussion, did not appear at the White House announcement.
“Hillary wanted very much to be here today, but she continues to recuperate,” the president said. “I had a chance to talk to her earlier today, and she is in good spirits and could not be more excited about the announcement that I’m making.”
Mr. Obama still has to fill two other key openings in his national security team, finding replacements for Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, who intends to resign; and David H. Petraeus, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, who resigned in November because of an extramarital affair.