Obama tapped Kerry for secretary of state before Rice quit
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WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - United States (US) President Barack Obama offered Senator John Kerry the job of secretary of state a week before Ms Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations (UN), withdrew her name from contention, the Boston Globe reported on Friday.
"He called me, actually a week before Susan got out of the thing," Mr Kerry told the newspaper, offering a timeline earlier than previously reported.
"He called me and said, 'You're my choice. I want you to do this.' He asked me to keep it quiet. I did. I sat on it," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Ms Rice, a top aide to Mr Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign, withdrew her name from consideration as secretary of state on Dec 13 in the face of what promised to be a contentious Senate confirmation battle.
