US Vice President Joe Biden may well be the top choice of Hillary Clinton for the key post of Secretary of State should she win the White House race, a media report said on Friday, citing “a source familiar with the planning” said to be under way in Clinton’s transition team.
A seasoned politician who has been a Senator for 36 years including a stint as chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee before his eight-year tenure as Vice President, Biden is “at the top of the internal short list” being prepared by her transition team, Politico reported.
“Neither Clinton, nor her aides have yet told Biden,” the report said, citing the same source as noting: “He’d be great, and they are spending a lot of time figuring out the best way to try to persuade him to do it if she wins.”
There has been no official reaction yet from the Clinton campaign to the report.
Biden could have been a rival for Clinton in the Democratic presidential primaries, but he put an end to all speculation by announcing in October 2015 that he would not be running, giving a further boost to Clinton’s bid.
Apart from Biden, the Clinton team is reported to have considered several other names for the top diplomatic position including former Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, former Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns, former Under Secretary of State Nick Burns, and Strobe Talbott, the Deputy Secretary of State during President Bill Clinton’s first term.
Clinton continues to be ahead in most polls, but her lead has significantly reduced in recent days. It is now down to 4.5 per cent (45.1 to 40.6) in the RealClearPolitics average of 10 national polls. Also, several battleground States are in the toss-up category, but these are reckoned to pose a stiffer challenge for Donald Trump.