New concerns arise after Rice, GOP senator meet
WASHINGTON — Sen. Susan Collins met with Susan Rice on Wednesday and said afterward that she could not support her for secretary of state without more information, raising a new concern about the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Other Republicans have threatened to block Rice’s nomination if President Barack Obama picks her to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton, which would require Senate confirmation.
“I still have many questions that remain unanswered,” Collins told reporters after a 75-minute meeting with Rice.
The moderate Maine Republican – whose support would be key if Rice were nominated — said she still wanted more information about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission and a nearby CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, in which the U.S. envoy and three other Americans were killed.
Collins voiced a newconcern about Rice after the meeting, noting that the Benghazi attacks “echoed” the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, when Rice was the State Department’s Africa region head. “In both cases, the ambassador begged for additional security,” and both requests were turned downby the department, Collins said.
Some senators have openly criticized Rice for initial commentsafter the Benghazi attack that suggested it was a spontaneous event arising from protests of an anti-Islam film rather than a planned terrorist strike. Republicans have argued that the Obama administration tried to play down the terrorist angle in its initial comments to avoid undermining the president’s claims of success in fighting alQaida in the run-up to the Nov. 6 election.
Rice, accompanied by acting CIA Director Michael Morell, also met with Sen. Bob Corker, who is line to be the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, after her discussion with Collins. On Tuesday, Rice met with Republican Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte — all vocal critics.
After his meeting, Corker had tough words for the Benghazi attack and the aftermath and urged Obama to “step back” from the controversy surrounding Rice and “take a deep breath” as he decided whom to nominate as secretary of state.
“Whenhemakes that nomination, I look forward to thoroughly examining that person, looking at their credentials and making my own determination at that time,” Corker said.
For his part, Obama gave a show of moral support to his embattled ambassador Wednesday, calling Rice “extraordinary” and prompting applause from his Cabinet during a White House meeting
“Susan Rice is extraordinary,” he said in response to a question, adding that he “couldn’t be prouder of the job she’s done.”
The rest of the assembled members of the Cabinet, including Clinton, sitting next to Obama, broke into applause.