By an ever-so-slim margin, Sen. John Kerry was confirmed as the next U.S. Secretary of State this evening with a vote of 94-3. The three standing in opposition are all from the GOP.
That Kerry would be confirmed was a near inevitability when U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration in December. At the time, few other options were being seriously considered, and Kerry, with his years of experience, seemed an obvious choice.
But beyond his qualifications, Kerry had another quality that made him palatable to the GOP: he holds an attainable senate seat. Several analysts I talked to back in December were convinced that the GOP’s opposition to Rice, publicly described as concern over her comments in the wake of the attack in Benghazi, was entirely about getting Kerry picked instead.
As you’ll recall former Sen. Scott Brown lost a tightly contested race to Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts in November. It was a hard fought contest, and while the final results were not as close as many had anticipated, Brown acquitted himself well in a deeply blue state against a democrat with national exposure. The thought, at the time, was that Brown would have a good shot against a field without a celebrity democrat as a former Senator Brown will have excellent name recognition.
It’s still not clear if Brown will run for senator or governor, but it’s a chance for a pick-up following an election where the GOP lost seats in both chambers.
On the vote front, Kerry was in the chamber for the vote and voted present. Interestingly, current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former senator herself, did not vote when her confirmation vote came up in 2009. The vote for Clinton, a polarizing figure on the political scene, was even stronger. Clinton was confirmed with a 94-2 vote.
One of the three GOP senators who voted against Kerry released a statement to the press immediately following the vote that was incredibly polite.
“I have known Sen. Kerry for many years and consider him a friend, however, I am simply too philosophically opposed on the issues to support his nomination,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).
Obama, for his part, voiced his support.
I am pleased that the Senate has confirmed John Kerry as our next Secretary of State with overwhelming bipartisan support. From his decorated service in Vietnam to his decades in the Senate as a champion of American global leadership, John’s distinguished career has prepared him to guide American diplomacy in the years ahead.
John has earned the respect of leaders around the world and the confidence of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, and I am confident he will make an extraordinary Secretary of State. I look forward to his counsel and partnership in the years ahead as we ensure American leadership in the world and advance the interests and values that keep our nation strong.
Clinton will have her last office on Friday. Kerry’s transition team has been in place for weeks, taking up offices in the lower levels of Foggy Bottom to help the new Secretary of State plan for his confirmation hearing.
Next up for Kerry: quite a few personnel decisions.
