WASHINGTON: US Republican and Democratic senators were fiercely split over Susan Rice's withdrawal on Thursday as candidate for secretary of state, but they appeared to unite over a likely replacement: Senator John Kerry.
UN ambassador Rice, a close ally of President Barack Obama, had been a frontrunner to replace Hillary Clinton as Washington's top diplomat but fell foul of a row over the administration's reaction to the attacks in Benghazi, Libya on September 11 of this year.
Republicans who strongly opposed Rice's bid welcomed her decision to back down, while Democrats voiced their disappointment.
"I think it's the right decision," Republican Senator John Barrasso told reporters. "Her reporting after the 9/11 attacks, to me, was when she disqualified herself for that position."
Rice withdrew her name from consideration after it became clear that her confirmation hearings would be dominated by criticism of her public statements about the attack on a US consulate in eastern Libya.
But lawmakers on both sides of the political divide agreed that her departure opened the door for Kerry, the current chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"I think Kerry would be eminently qualified and confirmable," Barrasso said.
After the wrangling over Rice, "I want to see somebody as secretary of state who has sound judgment, who will ask tough questions."
Kerry is a known commodity. He has served on the Foreign Relations Committee for some three decades, ran for president, and is well-travelled in global hot spots like the Middle East, where the United States must tread carefully.
"Even if we don't agree with Senator Kerry on some of the domestic issues, we think that he has handled foreign relations as chairman pretty good," said Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa.
With Rice out of the picture, he said "I think we'll be able to approve a secretary of state faster," particularly if Kerry, 69, gets the nod.
"I think he'd have an easy confirmation."
Liberal independent Senator Bernie Sanders said he believed Republicans "made the Benghazi tragedy and the loss of life into a very partisan political issue, and that's unfortunate."
Conservatives turned on Rice after she appeared on talk shows five days after the attack and used flawed intelligence briefing notes to portray the assault as a spontaneous demonstration against an anti-Islam video.
It transpired that the attack, which took place during a fraught US presidential race and left four Americans dead including US ambassador Chris Stevens, had been orchestrated by a local militia with Al-Qaeda ties.
Alleging a cover-up, some Republicans, including Senator John McCain, had openly threatened to block Rice's nomination should Obama choose her, which he at first seemed poised to do, publicly standing by her.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrat Chris Coons said that while he was disappointed to learn of Rice's withdrawal, Kerry was a top alternative.
"I certainly admire his leadership of our committee and think that he is a strong and capable advocate for the United States," Coons said.
"The president is entitled to a nominee of his choice, and at this particularly troubled, difficult and challenging moment in the world, it's important for us to have a seasoned and experienced senior leader."
Kerry in a statement praised Rice as an "extraordinarily capable and dedicated public servant," and alluded to his own battles in the political arena.
"As someone who has weathered my share of political attacks and understands on a personal level just how difficult politics can be, I've felt for her throughout these last difficult weeks," he said.
NBC News, which first reported Rice's withdrawal, quoted an official close to the nominations process, who said Kerry was virtually assured the State job.
"There were two people on the list," the person told NBC. "Two minus one is one."
- AFP/xq
With Rice's withdrawal, US lawmakers eye Kerry for State
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With Rice's withdrawal, US lawmakers eye Kerry for State
