White House personnel shuffle: Who's on the list
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Speculation Rice will be nominated as secretary of state to replace Hillary Clinton is still high, something her recent meetings on Capitol Hill with critics did little to quell. Democratic officials told CNN Rice wanted to visit the Hill to answer questions after the fallout from her appearances on Sunday shows following the attacks in Benghazi.
But Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who has long wanted the job, is still in the mix. The former Democratic presidential nominee and chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee has kept a low profile, a potential sign he's continuing to angle for the top diplomatic position. His name has also been floated as an option to head the defense department when Leon Panetta steps down, even though he is said to not want that job.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and former Sen. Chuck Hagel also make the defense list, according to senior Democrats.
Carter has a history of handling budget and business issues, fitting topics at this time.
Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska, is the former deputy administrator of veterans affairs under former President Ronald Reagan, served in the Vietnam War and on the Senate foreign relations committee. A Hagel pick would follow a tradition of nominating bipartisan secretaries of defense, most recently Robert Gates who served under Obama and former President George W. Bush.
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http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/white-house-personnel-shuffle-whos-on-the-list/
