Secretary Of State, White House Staffing | featured news

Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who lost out in a bruising bid for the job of secretary of state, may have the last laugh.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has formally resigned as America's 67th secretary of state, capping a four-year tenure in the office that saw her shatter previous records for countries visited.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the panel that John Kerry has led for the past four years, unanimously approved his nomination, and the full Senate was set to vote.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama has nominated Sen. John Kerry as his next secretary of state, saying Kerry's entire life "has prepared him for this role."

Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration to be the next secretary of state after the embattled U.N. ambassador ran into a standoff with Republicans over an attack on Americans in Libya.

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, center point of our latest political distraction, will not be nominated to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. While the current grandstanding serves the political interests of the Obama white house, when the time comes to submit an actual nomination, the name submitted will be John Kerry.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine, expressed doubts on Wednesday over the Obama administration's handling of the attack in Libya, further clouding Susan E. Rice's prospects as secretary of state.

The ambassador to the United Nations, Susan E. Rice, said Tuesday that she incorrectly described the attack on the American mission in Libya but said she based her statement on the available intelligence.

The top Republican leading the fight against Susan Rice as the new secretary of State softened his opposition and said Sunday he was open to hearing her explain why she declared the burning of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was part of a protest rather than a terrorist

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she wants to step off the "high wire of American politics" after two decades and is again tamping down speculation that she might stay in government if President Barack Obama wins a second term.