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Susan Rice's surprise withdrawal saves Obama a fight

UN ambassador Susan Rice, once perceived as a natural replacement for Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, has withdrawn her name from the nomination process. It now seems likely that President Obama will pick Senator John Kerry for the role. 

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the聽United Nations聽and a close confidante of President Barack Obama, withdrew her name from consideration as secretary of state on Thursday in the face of what promised to be a contentious聽Senate聽confirmation battle.

Rice has drawn heavy fire from Republicans for remarks she made in the aftermath of a Sept. 11 attack on the聽U.S. mission聽in聽Benghazi,听Libya, in which four Americans were killed, including Ambassador聽Chris Stevens.

"I am highly honored to be considered by you for appointment as secretary of state,"聽Rice said in a letter to Obama. "I am fully confident that I could serve our country ably and effectively in that role. However, if nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly."

Her decision increases the odds Obama will turn to Senator聽John Kerry, chairman of the聽Senate Foreign Relations Committee聽and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, to replace Secretary of State聽Hillary Clinton聽when she steps down early next year.

Rice's surprise withdrawal spares Obama a potentially bruising nomination fight in the聽Senate, even as he grapples with congressional Republicans over tax, debt and spending policy to avoid the "fiscal cliff."

An announcement of Obama's national security team could come as early as next week. Officials say Obama is giving serious consideration to nominating former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as his defense secretary to replace the departing Leon Panetta.

Obama had harbored hopes of picking Rice, 48, as the nation's chief diplomat. She was an early foreign policy adviser to him when he ran for president in 2008 and became the first black woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to the聽United Nations. She was widely seen as a natural replacement for Clinton.

But聽Rice has faced relentless criticism from Republicans about comments she made days after the attack in聽Libya.

She went on five Sunday television shows on Sept. 16 to say that preliminary information suggested the assault was the result of protests over an anti-Muslim video that was made in聽California聽rather than a premeditated strike.

The video, posted on the Internet under several titles including "Innocence of Muslims," mocked the Prophet Mohammad and portrayed him as a womanizer and a fool.聽

'Strength of character'

U.S. intelligence聽officials have since said that militants with ties to al Qaeda affiliates were involved in the attacks, and acknowledged there were no protests.聽Rice聽has said she relied on talking points from intelligence agencies when she spoke, and Obama has angrily denied suggestions the聽White House聽played down terrorist connections for political purposes.

The聽White House聽has said Rice's comments were based on the best information she had at the time.

The聽Libya聽controversy, combined with a combative style and an eagerness to engage in partisan politics, undermined Rice's case, and visits she made to Capitol Hill in late November seeking to bolster her potential nomination did not help.

Obama, in a letter to Rice, said he was grateful that she would continue in her job at the聽United Nations. An aide said Obama and Rice聽spoke by phone earlier in the day.

"While I deeply regret the unfair and misleading attacks on Susan Rice聽in recent weeks, her decision demonstrates the strength of her character, and an admirable commitment to rise above the politics of the moment to put our national interests first," Obama said.

Rice and Obama are due to meet at the聽White House聽on Friday.

Republican Senator聽John McCain, Obama's 2008 presidential opponent, has been a strong critic of Rice聽and vowed last month to block any future promotion for her.

"Senator McCain thanks Ambassador Rice聽for her service to the country and wishes her well," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers. "He will continue to seek all the facts surrounding the attack on our consulate in聽Benghazi聽that killed four brave Americans."

It was unclear why Rice聽made the decision now to withdraw her name from contention.

In an interview with NBC News, which first reported her decision,听Rice said she did not want her candidacy to detract from the early months of Obama's second-term agenda, and priorities like immigration reform and deficit reduction.

"To the extent that my nomination could have delayed or distracted or deflected, or maybe even (made) some of these priorities impossible to achieve, I didn't want that," she said.

"Susan made this decision herself in the interest of avoiding a protracted partisan brawl," said聽White House聽spokesman聽Tommy Vietor.

Tough negotiator聽

Russian U.N. ambassador聽Vitaly Churkin, in a nod to Rice's reputation as a tough negotiator, jokingly told the PBS Newshour: "If it means that Ambassador聽Rice is going to spend another four years at the聽United Nations, I'll have to ask for double pay."

One option is for Obama to make聽Rice his national security adviser, a position that does not require聽Senate聽confirmation. But there has been no indication the current national security adviser,听Tom Donilon, is leaving any time soon.

Kerry has long been seen as a possible successor to Clinton. He has friends on both sides of the political aisle and if nominated, is expected to win bipartisan confirmation easily after the new聽Senate聽convenes in January.

The聽Massachusetts聽Democrat in a statement called Rice聽"an extraordinarily capable and dedicated public servant." He added that "I've felt for her throughout these last difficult weeks" of political attacks.

As he molds a second-term national security team, Obama also has to name a CIA director to fill the position left by retired General聽David Petraeus, who resigned as a result of a sex scandal. Acting Director Michael Morell is a candidate for the top CIA job, along with聽White House聽counterterrorism chief John Brennan.

Also in the mix for the聽Pentagon聽job are聽Michele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense for policy, and聽Ashton Carter, the current deputy defense secretary.

Officials have discussed announcing the new national security team in a package. In another major appointment, White House chief of staff聽Jack Lew聽is a leading contender to replace聽Timothy Geithner聽as treasury secretary when he leaves after negotiations with聽Congress聽over U.S. fiscal policy.