John Kerry; an ideal successor to Hillary Rodham Clinton

The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed five-term Sen. John Kerry to be
secretary of state as an ideal successor to Hillary Rodham Clinton. The vote Tuesday was 94-3. Kerry could be sworn in as early as Wednesday. A welcoming ceremony is planned at the State Department on Monday.
Obama tapped Kerry, 69, the son of a diplomat, decorated Vietnam veteran and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, to succeed Clinton, who is stepping down after four years. The Massachusetts Democrat, who had pined for the job but was passed over in 2009, has served as Obama's unofficial envoy, smoothing fractious ties with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Sen. Kerry will need no introduction to the world's political and military
leaders and will begin Day One fully conversant not only with the intricacies of U.S. foreign policy, but able to act on a multitude of international stages," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who will succeed Kerry as committee chairman.

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the panel's top Republican, called Kerry "a realist" who will deal with unrest in Egypt, civil war in Syria, the threat of Al Qaeda-linked groups in Africa and Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Voting against Kerry were three Republicans -- Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas. Absent from the vote were Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and John Hoeven, R-N.D. Cornyn said in a statement. The senator is up for re-election next year and could face a tea party challenge “"Sen. Kerry has a long history of liberal positions that are not consistent with a majority of Texans."

Kerry's smooth path to the nation's top diplomatic job stands in stark contrast to the harsher treatment for Obama's other national security nominees -- Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary and John Brennan to be CIA director.