WASHINGTON — John Kerry yesterday took over for Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, admitting he’s got some “big heels to fill.”
Kerry, a former US senator and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, was greeted with rousing cheers from staff as he reported for his first day as America’s top diplomat.
“Can a man actually run the State Department?” joked Kerry, who is the first man in the post in eight years, following Clinton and Condoleezza Rice.
“I don’t know,” he continued. “As the saying goes, I have big heels to fill.”
Kerry steps into the job amid criticism of the department’s security failures and the Obama administration’s botched response to the deadly terror attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
“I guarantee you that, beginning this morning, when I report for duty upstairs, everything I do will be focused on the security and safety of our people,” he said.
Kerry, who chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is the son of a diplomat, said that foreign service was in his DNA.
He is expected to spend the week reaching out to foreign leaders. He has already spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.