Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) will be the next Secretary of State, a Democrat who spoke to the Senator told CNN on Saturday.
President Barack Obama is expected to make the formal announcement of his selection soon. If he passes the Senate confirmation process, Kerry will take over the role being vacated by Hillary Clinton. She is slated to leave her post within the administration early next year.
Kerry, who was the 2004 Democratic nominee for President, will receive the Secretary of State nomination instead of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who withdrew her name from the running on Thursday amid turmoil over the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11.
Choosing Kerry is a smart choice for President Obama. The Senator is currently chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has spent considerable time traveling and maintaining good relationships with other nations in that role.
Very little push-back is expected from Republicans in the Senate, unlike a possible Rice nomination. Republicans warned Vice President Joe Biden that a Rice Senate confirmation would be almost “impossible,” according to CBS.
Kerry’s vacant Senate seat would also be a plus for Republicans, as Sen. Scott Brown is expected to seek Kerry’s seat in the special election, ABC reports. Brown lost his current seat to Elizabeth Warren during the 2012 election, in which the overwhelmingly Democratic state was expected to vote a straight party ticket for Obama and Warren, but could more easily win the seat in a special election. His approval ratings were high throughout his time in office, but the special election could be a tough fight against depending on who the Democratic contenders are.
Moderate Republican and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel is also expected to be nominated for defense secretary, The Washington Post reports.
