Consideration of the former Republican senator comes as Susan Rice faces controversy over her possible nomination as secretary of State.

President Obama offered praise for his embattled and "extraordinary" U.N. ambassador on Wednesday.

The Tennessee Republican said he would not prejudge the UN ambassador if she gets State Department nod. 

The Senate passed an amendment to the defense bill by voice vote Wednesday that would place more Marines at U.S. consulates and embassies around the world.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced the amendment, saying it was important to prevent more deaths overseas, referring to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11.

“I don't understand why she wouldn't have at least qualified her response” about Benghazi, Collins said.

Your morning global affairs speed-read

Susan Rice is back on Capitol Hill today for meetings with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) after meeting with three Senate hawks on Tuesday. The visits are widely seen as a last-ditch effort to salvage her chances of being nominated for secretary of State.

Tuesday's meetings did not go well, with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) telling reporters afterwards that they had more concerns about the after meeting with the U.S. ambassador to the UN than before. The Hill has the latest on the state of play here.

Cross-Atlantic ties: European Parliament President Martin Schulz is scheduled to meet today with Vice-President Joe Biden and Senate leaders Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The EU hopes to revive a free trade agreement with the United States.

Food aid: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's foreign aid panel holds a hearing on “Evaluating current U.S. global food security efforts and determining future U.S. leadership opportunities” at 10 a.m. 

The full committee will then take up the nominations for ambassador to Kenya and Lithuania at 2 p.m.

A top Senate Democrat is hopeful that the upper chamber can clear a House-passed trade bill next week that targets human rights violations only in Russia. 

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Tuesday that he prefers legislation providing permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Moscow to focus solely on punishing human rights violators in Russia instead of a broader, global bill. 

"I think it should be Russia specific" because that was where Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was jailed for calling out government corruption, died in prison after being tortured in 2009. 

Republicans remain concerned about comments Rice made following the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republican attacks on United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice are “outrageous and utterly unmoored from facts and reality.”

Rice didn't convince Republican senators that she wasn't to blame for providing misleading information about the September attack in Benghazi, Libya, during meetings on Capitol Hill Tuesday.