Clinton to become secretary of state

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton, the woman who fought a bruising battle against Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, has accepted an offer from the president-elect to serve as secretary of state, The New York Times reported Friday.

The Times, citing two Clinton confidants, said the New York senator has opted to give up her Senate seat to become one of the most prominent members of Obama’s forthcoming administration.

The news comes after more than a week of feverish, will-she-or-won’t-she speculation that had people buzzing in coffee shops and martini bars across the U.S. capital. Even as the Times story zipped Friday through D.C.’s corridors of power, it was officially disputed.

Philippe Reines, Clinton’s spokesman, said nothing had been finalized and that she was still in discussions about whether to take the job. But he added the talks were “very much on track.”

Officials in both camps said they believed the president-elect would make a formal announcement about his former rival taking the job shortly after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday next week.

Fox News also reported Friday that Clinton had accepted the job.

Clinton came to a decision following further conversations with Obama about her role in the administration and his foreign policy plans, the Times reported.

The two camps have also apparently worked out financial disclosure issues involving Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the complicated international funding of his charitable foundation.

The William J. Clinton Foundation operates in 27 countries and raised US$124 million last year. Bill Clinton has reportedly provided the names of all the donors to the foundation in order to ensure there would be no conflict-of-interest minefields for Clinton if she took the job.

Some Democrats and government insiders have suggested Clinton is too strong-willed and politically ambitious to be a team player as secretary of state, and wonder whether the move is Obama’s first major presidential gamble.

“She brings so much to the table,” Abner Mikva, a former White House counsel for Bill Clinton and an Obama mentor, said earlier this week.

“On the other hand, there are the obvious downsides, the conflicts that her husband has.”

Even though he’s disclosed financial information, some have warned that foreign leaders might still view Bill Clinton as a possible route towards influencing U.S. foreign policy.

But Obama is said to admire Clinton’s talents, her work ethic and her experience, as do many other Democrats. The apparent rapprochement between Obama and Clinton comes after a bitter and protracted brawl for the Democratic nomination that left lingering bad blood between their camps.