Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, withdrew her name from consideration for Secretary of State on Thursday.
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In a letter to President Barack Obama, Rice said:
“The confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive, and costly – to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities. That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country.”
Rice was said to be the frontrunner for the post after Hillary Clinton’s statement that she would vacate once a successor was confirmed.
Just recently, Rice drew criticism for her comments about the attack in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens:
On several television programs several days after the attack, she described a protest of an anti-Islam video outside the mission buildings.
She said her comments were based on declassified talking points, and sources within the intelligence community said the talking points were not modified by any other body, such as the White House.
Obama had defended her, describing the criticism from several key Republicans as “outrageous.” “If Senator McCain and Senator (Lindsey) Graham and others want to go after someone, they should go after me,” Obama said at a White House news conference in late November. “When they go after the U.N. ambassador, apparently because they think she’s an easy target, then they’ve got a problem with me.”
SOURCE: CNN
