Vote on Kerry's nomination for secretary of State planned for Tuesday

The Senate will likely vote Tuesday to make Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) the new secretary of State, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Thursday.

“I'm working with the new committee chairman and the ranking member so that we can hold a vote on Tuesday on the nomination of the new secretary of State,” Reid said on the Senate floor. 

Kerry's nomination is expected to sail through. President Obama's first choice to replace Hillary Clinton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, withdrew from contention after Republicans vowed to oppose her and urged Obama to nominate Kerry instead.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a largely non-confrontational hearing on Kerry's nomination on Thursday, despite a few pointed questions about foreign aid and the administration's response to the Sept. 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi, Libya. Kerry could get a committee vote as early as Monday.

Ramsey Cox contributed

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