John Kerry To Be Nominated For Secretary Of State, Reports Say
John Kerry will be nominated for Secretary of State, succeeding Hillary Clinton, reports from Washington say.
ABC News political correspondent Jake Tapper noted that sources have told him of the John Kerry nomination. Those sources say that the nomination will not be made official by the White House for another couple of days.
Current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is recovering from an illness and a concussion she suffered when that illness caused her to faint, has announced her retirement from the post within the next few weeks.
The path to a Secretary of State nominee has been winding. Obama had been interested in nominating U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, but after heavy criticism from Republicans she withdrew her name from consideration.
A John Kerry nomination for Secretary of State would not come as a surprise to political insiders. Huffington Post political writers Sam Stein and Joshua Hersh reported in early December that Democrats were interested in nominating Kerry to the post.
There are some concerns with a possible John Kerry nomination for Secretary of State, and they could be coming from Democrats. Some party sources have expressed concern that if Kerry were nominated, it would give the GOP a chance to pick up Kerry’s Senate seat in Massachusetts, which would need a special election.
Another Democratic source told The Huffington Post that there could be support for John Kerry’s Secretary of State nomination as long as the White House shows it is committed to helping support and win a special election.
