16 Dec 2012

Obama expected to nominate Kerry as US Secretary of State

9:26 pm on 16 December 2012

President Barack Obama is expected to nominate Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to be the next United States Secretary of State.

News reports say Senator Kerry's nomination will not be announced yet, because of the need to finalize the process and out of respect for the national mourning over the school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in the 2004 election and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if confirmed by the Senate.

Reuters reports that Mrs Clinton has decided to step down from her job in the Obama administration.