Will Sen. John Kerry's Appointment As Secretary Of State Be Blocked?

President Obama and Senator John Kerry. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Is Hillary's Benghazi Testimony Still Going to Hold Up Kerry's Confirmation? -- The Atlantic

As if the "Where's Hillary?" meme hadn't picked up enough conspiratorial steam, it appears that some continue to believe Sen. John Kerry somehow might not get confirmed as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's successor until Republican Senators successfully drag her to testify about the Benghazi attacks. The murmurs continued in a report from Foreign Policy's Josh Rogin, who in the midst of an otherwise dull roundup on Kerry's transition team continued to float this curious gossip:

The Senate is expected to take up Kerry's nomination in early January, but multiple Republican senators have already said they won't agree to a vote on Kerry's nomination until Clinton testifies about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi. Illness and a concussion has prevented Clinton from appearing thus far.

Read more ....

Update: Report: GOP senators won’t confirm Kerry until Clinton testifies on Benghazi -- Washington Examiner

My Comment: Short answer .... no .... the Republicans do not have the votes. But .... they can put the spotlight on the Benghazi tragedy and ask the questions (again) that have remained unanswered. On a side note .... where is US Secretary of State Clinton?

President Obama Will Nominate Sen. John Kerry For U.S. Secretary Of State

Obama Picks Kerry For Secretary Of State, Official Says -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to nominate Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts as secretary of state, a senior administration official said, succeeding Hillary Rodham Clinton and putting in place the first member of his second-term national security team.

The appointment of Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and his party’s former presidential nominee in 2004, has been widely expected since last week, when Susan E. Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations, asked Mr. Obama to withdraw her candidacy for the post.

Read more ....

More News On Sen. John Kerry To Be Nominated For U.S. Secretary Of State

John Kerry to Be Nominated to Succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State -- ABC News
Obama to tap Kerry for State post -- NBC
John Kerry will be nominated for secretary of state, official says -- CNN
Obama nominating John Kerry to be Secretary of State -- CBS
President Obama to nominate John Kerry for secretary of state -- Politico
Obama to nominate John Kerry for secretary of state today -- Washington Post
Obama set to nominate Kerry for secretary of state -- Washington Times
Obama to tap Kerry for Secretary of State -- USA Today
President Obama nominating John Kerry to be next secretary of state -- Boston.com
Obama chooses John Kerry for secretary of State. How might he do? -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor

My Comment: No surprise with this nomination.

Sen. John Kerry To Be The Next US Secretary Of State

Photo: Sen. John Kerry. Wikipedia

Source: Obama Has Chosen John Kerry As Secretary Of State -- Chicago Sun Times

President Barack Obama has chosen Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to be the next secretary of state, a source has told Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed.

His replacement as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the Sneed source said.

This comes on the heels of Thursday’s announcement that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice had removed herself from the list of candidates to take over from Hillary Clinton. Rice said that what was sure to be a contentious and lengthy approval process took attention away from more pressing problems facing the nation.

Read more ....

My Comment: More On Sen. John Kerry later (and I am not surprised by this choice) .... but Sen. Robert Menendez is a horrible choice to head the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (or any other committee) .... but this is how the US Senate operates.

Opposition To John Kerry As Secretary Of Defense Is Starting

My Comment: Ralph Peters can be rough at times. As to what is my take .... I will always remember the insult that John Kerry threw at US soldiers who were fighting in Iraq at the time (2006) .... but then again .... it may be this history and background that President Obama wants in the Pentagon.