Condi Rice Confirmed With Fireworks

Senate Panel Confirms Rice
Wednesday, January 19, 2005

WASHINGTON — The Senate Foreign Relations Commitee on Wednesday confirmed Condoleezza Rice (search) as the nation's next secretary of state by a vote of 16 to 2, sending her name to the full Senate for approval.

Senators voting "nay" to putting Rice in charge of the State Department were Democrats Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts. The vote came after two days of tough questioning Rice, who currently serves as President Bush's national security adviser.

Ranking Democrat Joe Biden of Delaware said that while he "could easily see how I would go that way," he would vote for her confirmation out of a sense of optimism and a recognition that they will have to work together.

A full Senate vote could come Thursday afternoon after Bush takes the oath of office and attends a congressional luncheon.

If confirmed, Rice would become the first black woman to be the nation's top diplomat, replacing Colin Powell. Powell was delivering his farewell speech to State Department employees on Wednesday.

Before the vote during a second day of Rice testimony, Biden said Wednesday during the hearing that the goal of Tuesday's line of questioning was "not to play 'I gotcha' or embarrass the president but [to find out] what we learned, what we'd do different [in Iraq] … or, given a different circumstance, which we may face" in Korea, Iran, or Syria.