Reid: No one is 'better qualified' than Kerry to be secretary of State

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) congratulated Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) Wednesday on his confirmation as the new U.S. secretary of State.

“No one is better qualified than John Kerry to continue the work of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,” Reid said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “He’s really a brilliant man.”

Kerry was confirmed as secretary of State by the Senate on Tuesday, on a 94-3 vote.

Clinton has said her last day will be Friday, and Kerry has turned in his letter of resignation to the Senate, stating that his duty as a senator ends Friday at 4 p.m.

Reid highlighted some of Kerry’s personal achievements, such as his service in the Vietnam War and on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than 25 years.

“He is a great evaluator of people, and because of that the president has trusted him and sent him on all these missions and now he’ll do that as secretary of State,” Reid said.

Reid said he will miss his Senate colleague but that he has confidence Kerry will do the job well.

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