John Kerry's Name Being Floated For Defense Secretary - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

John Kerry's Name Being Floated For Defense Secretary

YAHOO.COM - Though he was an early frontrunner to replace Hillary Clinton asSecretary of State, a new report says that Senator John Kerry could be tapped to run the Defense Department instead. The Washington Post reports that President Obama is "considering" asking Kerry to take the post, currently occupied by Leon Panetta. The 74-year-old Panetta is expected to step down sometime next year, and when combined with Clinton's planned retirement, and the unplanned resignation of David Patreaus at the CIA, the entire national security team will need to be overhauled.

Kerry, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, appeared to be the natural choice for State given his devotion to dipolmatic issues while a member of the Senate. However, it appears that Obama is determined to nominate Susan Rice, the current ambassador the United Nations as Clinton's replacement. That still appears to be the plan, even though some Repbulicans are accusing Rice of botching the administration's response to the Benghazi embassy attack and Libya, and possibly intentionally misleading the public. click here to read more