Sen. Collins Troubled By Rice, Supports Kerry At State

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Following a closed-door meeting with Susan Rice on Wednesday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that she still remained “troubled” about the role the U.N. Ambassador played in the aftermath of an attack upon a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya earlier this year.

“I still have many questions that remain unanswered,” Collins told reporters on the Hill. “I continue to be troubled by the fact that the U.N. Ambassador decided to play what was eventually a political role at the height of the contentious presidential election campaign by agreeing to go on the Sunday shows to present the administration’s position.”

Collins also questioned Rice’s readiness given that she presided as assistant secretary for African Affairs during the bombing of two U.S. embassies in 1998.

“What troubles me so much is the Benghazi attack in many ways echos the attacks on those embassies in 1998 when Susan Rice was head of the African region for our State Department,” Rice added. “In both cases, the ambassador begged for additional security.”

Collins noted that she would “need additional information” before being able to support Rice’s nomination as potential replacement of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, maintaining that Sen. John Kerry would be easily confirmable by the Senate.

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