WASHINGTON (CBSDC) — President Barack Obama wants to tap U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice as the next secretary of state, CBS News reports.Current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has previously said that she would not serve a second term.
Sources tell CBS News that Rice is the likely nominee because of the way she has performed regarding the situations with Iran and North Korea. She could face pushback from Republicans over what she knew about the Benghazi Consulate terror attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Rice originally said that the attack was a spontaneous protest over an anti-Mohammed film, and not a terror attack. The White House later backtracked from that position.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that it would be a mistake for Obama to nominate anyone that was involved with the “Benghazi debacle.”
“I’m not entertaining promoting anybody that I think was involved with the Benghazi debacle. We need to get to the bottom of it,” Graham told CBS News. “The president has a lot of leeway with me and others when it comes to making appointments, but I’m not going to promote somebody who I think has misled the country or is either incompetent. That’s my view of Susan Rice.”
Clinton isn’t the only post Obama will likely have to fill. It has been reported that Sen. John Kerry could replace Leon Panetta as the secretary of defense and last week Attorney General Eric Holder said he doesn’t know if he wants to continue on in a second term.
Rice previously served in former President Bill Clinton’s administration.
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