Former Secretary of State Frontrunner to be Named National Security Adviser

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice was on the short list for the position of Secretary of State vacated by Hillary Clinton. Her nomination was derailed, however, by Republican concerns about her involvement in a possible coverup of the Benghazi attacks. 

President Obama named former Senator and Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry to the position early this year.  According to press reports, Susan Rice will soon be named national security adviser. This position does not require Senate confirmation.

TIME reports:

Rice was originally Obama’s top pick to succeed Hillary Clinton at State, a job that eventually went to John Kerry. Obama felt Rice, with whom he often dines, would know his mind without him having to tell her what to do. But Republicans objected to Rice because five days after the Benghazi attack in September she went on the Sunday shows blaming outrage over American-made video ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed for the attack, rather than terrorists. Republicans say she was politicizing the incident, trying to protect Obama’s claim that he’d rooted out al Qaeda. Democrats say she was speaking from talking points approved by the Central Intelligence Agency. Rice tried and failed to court Republican senators, all but dooming her nomination

Rice is a Stanford graduate and former Rhodes Scholar.

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