President Obama on Thursday accepted U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's decision to
withdraw from consideration to be the next secretary of State, averting a bitter
nomination fight with Republicans that risked bogging down his
second-term agenda.
In a letter to Obama notifying him of her
decision, Rice said she wanted to spare the White House a heated battle
with Senate Republicans, who have criticized her over the
administration's handling of the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate
in Benghazi, Libya.
“If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would
be lengthy, disruptive and costly — to you and to our most pressing
national and international priorities,” she wrote. “That trade-off is
simply not worth it to our country.”
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