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The former first lady hasn't been at her desk since early last month. She's suffered from a stomach virus, a concussion and has been treated for a blood clot discovered behind her right ear.

If John Kerry leaves the Senate to become secretary of state another Kennedy could fill his Senate seat — at least on an interim basis. And ousted Republican Scott Brown could have fighting chance of returning to the Capitol.

The Massachusetts senator has already carried out sensitive diplomatic efforts on behalf of President Obama, with a strong focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent years.

President Obama has formally nominated Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts to replace Hillary Clinton as the new Secretary of…

President Obama is expected Friday to nominate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as his next secretary of state. Kerry would replace Hillary Clinton, who's planning to leave the post after four years as the president's globetrotting emissary.

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He would succeed Secretary Hillary Clinton, who has said she wants to step down early in the president's second term.

State Department officials, testifying before Congress, acknowledge that security was inadequate in Benghazi before the deadly attacks in Libya. Sen. John Kerry, who was chairman of the Senate hearing, says the diplomatic corps needs more resources.

In the category of unintended consequences, Susan Rice's announcement about her future plans could mean a Republican in President Obama's inner circle, decorated Vietnam veterans overseeing the nation's military and foreign policy, and another special election for Senate in Massachusetts.

With U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice withdrawing her name from secretary of state consideration Thursday, attention turned to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as a possible successor to Hillary Clinton. And that would have repercussions on Capitol Hill and in Massachusetts.

The fight over U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice's potential nomination for secretary of state has left Sen. John Kerry in an odd spot because he could be up for the Cabinet post, too. Once a vocal defender of Rice, Kerry has kept quiet lately.