Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State planned to testify herself in January. The Benghazi matter also had an effect on Clinton's successor as Secretary of State. Obama's first choice was Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, but she came under heavy criticism from Congressional Republicans for what they felt were incorrect or deceptive statements in the aftermath of the attack, and by mid-December she withdrew her name from consideration. Obama then nominated Senator John Kerry for the position instead. By one report, Clinton had preferred Kerry over Rice all along anyway. Although still not well enough to attend the December 21 announcement of Kerry's nomination, Clinton
Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State was not personally involved because that's not something [the] Secretary of State did." In early March 2015, a "New York Times" report revealed that throughout her time as Secretary of State, Clinton used her own private email server, rather than government-issued departmental ones Further investigation revealed that the day of her first Senate hearing to become Secretary of State, Clinton, or an associate, purchased a private email server under the pseudonym "Eric Hoteham". The server was set up in her home in Chappaqua, New York. The matter gained widespread public attention due to concerns about the security of the mails