Report: Hillary Clinton accepts US secretary of state post
New York Times quotes associates as saying senator has accepted Obama's offer to become top US diplomat. 'She's ready,' one of them says
New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has accepted an offer from President-elect Barack Obama to become US Secretary of state, the New York Times said on Friday, quoting two Clinton associates.
"She's ready," one of the sources told the newspaper, which said Clinton came to her decision after additional discussions with Obama about the nature of her role as the top US diplomat and his plans for foreign policy.
Democratic Party sources have said Clinton was on track to be nominated, with an official announcement expected after the Nov. 27 Thanksgiving holiday.
Clinton has been rumored for weeks to be the top candidate for the job and has been going through an extensive vetting process by the Obama transition team, along with her husband and former president Bill Clinton.
Once Obama's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton met the president-elect last week in Chicago to first discuss the possibility of her taking on the role of the top US diplomat.
Clinton has a global profile both as a political leader in her own right and as Bill Clinton's wife.
Policy analysts say her selection as secretary of state could mean a more hawkish US stance, noting that she has been more reluctant than Obama to commit to a firm timetable for withdrawing US troops from Iraq.
NBC news meanwhile also reported two other key Obama appointments: New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary. NBC said official announcements on the appointments were expected on Monday.
