Hillary is secretary of state after Senate's delayed OK

Hillary Clinton was sworn-in as US secretary of state shortly after the former first lady won a Senate confirmation overcoming some lingering concerns that her husband's charitable fundraising overseas including from India could pose conflicts of interest.
      
The green light for the 61-year-old wife of former president Bill Clinton to become president Barack Obama's chief diplomat on Wednesday was delayed by a day after a Republican senator John Cornyn held up a voice vote seeking "transparency" on her husband's charitable foundation.
      
Hillary, a former presidential campaign rival of Obama, was finally confirmed as secretary of state winning 94-2 vote in the Senate after getting overwhelming bipartisan support. Republican senators David Vitter of Louisiana and Jim DeMint of South Carolina opposed.
     
In an apparent reference to Samajwadi leader Amar Singh, Cornyn cited a huge donation by an Indian politician to the Clinton Foundation when the Indo-US civil nuclear deal was before the US Congress for its final approval as "just one example of the perception of the conflict of interest." Singh's name figures in the list of Clinton Foundation donors.
      
An hour after her confirmation, Hillary was sworn in as the country's 67th secretary of state in her office in the Russell Senate Office Building. She placed her hand on the Bible that belonged to her late father while taking oath at a ceremony also attended by Bill Clinton.
      
Hillary, who succeeds Condoleezza Rice, also formally resigned her Senate seat from New York. She is the first former first lady to hold the top diplomatic post.
     
Bill Clinton's charitable activities have been a source of concern for senators of both parties, who said foreign governments and businesspeople could use donations to curry favour with Hillary perceived to be having Indian links.

"Now, last year, last Congress, we voted to support a civilian nuclear technology arrangement with the country of India and I voted for it," Cornyn said.
    
"But one of the problems is, for example, one of the individuals who was lobbying for that, a politician in India who gave between USD 1 million and USD 5 million to the foundation, was actually lobbying Congress to pass this very same deal at the time he was making a significant contribution to the foundation," he said in an apparent reference to the SP leader though the senator from Texas did not name him.
    
"I'm not suggesting anything untoward or improper about that but I'm pointing out the very real example of the perception of conflict of interest, something I think we all would hope to avoid," the senator said.
    
In his speech on the Senate floor, Cornyn said he would vote in favour of Hillary, but said he wanted the discussion to make his point about transparency.
    
"My concern is not whether our colleague, senator Clinton, is qualified to be secretary of state or not. She is," he said.
    
"And I intend to vote for her confirmation but I also believe it's very important to flesh out some of the concerns that have been raised legitimately by senator Kerry, senator Lugar and others that I think bears some public discussion and some debate here in the Senate," Cornyn said.
    
Referring to the list of donors released by the Clinton Foundation last year, Cornyn said: "Many were unremarkable but some of them were troubling raising the very issue that we're discussing here today."

Earlier, participating in the debate, senator John Kerry, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that at her confirmation hearing, Hillary demonstrated an impressive grasp of the numerous, complex foreign policy issues US faces and showed why she will make such a formidable secretary of state.
    
"She has the stature to project America's leadership globally and to help build alliances, at home and abroad, that will be vital to our success in the years ahead," Kerry said.
    
Referring to concerns raised by some Senators, he said: "Secretary-designate Hillary Clinton and former president Clinton have gone to considerable lengths to create a new review process tailored to these particular circumstances."
    
He said the country urgently needs a secretary of state at this point of time to carry out the agenda of the new US president, Barack Obama.
    
In his speech, senator Richard Lugar, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Hillary Clinton, in his judgment is an extremely well-qualified nominee who deserves confirmation.