CHICAGO - US senator Hillary Clinton is likely to be nominated for secretary of state after the November 27th US Thanksgiving holiday, according to an aide to president-elect Barack Obama.
Potential hurdles related to financial disclosures by Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, have been worked out, said the Obama aide, who asked not to be named.
The New York Times reported on its website that Ms Clinton told confidants she has decided to accept the post. Her spokesman, Philippe Reines, said the two sides were "still in discussions, which are very much on track. Any reports beyond that are premature''.
Mr Obama also is likely to nominate New Mexico governor Bill Richardson as commerce department secretary, according to a Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mr Obama has also selected Timothy Geithner to be his treasury secretary, putting the respected head of the New York Federal Reserve in a key role as the US economy staggers toward recession, NBC news reported yesterday.
Mr Geithner (47) was seen as one of two main candidates for the treasury job along with former Clinton administration treasury chief Lawrence Summers.
Ms Clinton would be Obama's highest-ranking cabinet officer - the secretary of state is fourth in the line of presidential succession.
Backers say the popularity of both Hillary and Bill Clinton overseas would be a boon to the US's global reputation.
"She can have enormous impact in the world,'' said lobbyist Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic strategist who supported Ms Clinton (61) during the primaries.
Ms Clinton travelled to Chicago last week to meet with Mr Obama about the cabinet position. The process had been complicated by concerns that Bill Clinton's private business interests with foreign governments and companies could create conflicts for his wife if she were nominated.
Mr Clinton sent Mr Obama's transition team a list of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation, according to a Democrat familiar with the process. "I'll do whatever they want,'' the former president told reporters in New York earlier this week.
Mr Richardson (61) is another former primary rival who met with Mr Obama in Chicago.
The former energy secretary and United Nations ambassador under Mr Clinton was also on the list of contenders for secretary of state.
He had endorsed Mr Obama after ending his own bid for the Democratic nomination.
Ms Clinton, who would become the third woman to hold the secretary of state post, frequently sparred with Mr Obama on the campaign trail about foreign policy.
She ran a television advertisement dubbed "3am'' in which she questioned whether Mr Obama, with less than one full term as senator from Illinois, was experienced enough to handle a national crisis.
Still, she and Mr Obama (47) agree on many of the biggest issues of the day.
Both favour negotiating to halt North Korea's nuclear programme, pressuring Russia on democracy, working with China while pressing for human rights and keeping the embargo on Cuba while allowing family visits.
Both have also repeatedly criticised President George W Bush for the way he handled diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.
Earlier this year, Lee Feinstein, then national security director for Ms Clinton's campaign, said she would "pursue a strong and progressive foreign policy that stresses co-operation''.
There also are differences. Anti-war voters considered Ms Clinton more of a hawk, playing to Mr Obama's advantage during the primaries.
His campaign was eager to highlight their differences on foreign policy and her vote to authorise the Iraq war. Her advisers said she was more savvy about complex global threats and dismissed Mr Obama as naive.
During the primaries, Ms Clinton also criticised Mr Obama for agreeing to meet with foreign leaders of countries such as Iran without preconditions. - (Bloomberg, Reuters)