Secretary of state him on a vote of 94–3. On February 1, 2013, Hillary Clinton resigned as Secretary of State and John Kerry was sworn in as the 68th Secretary of State. On February 1, 2017, Rex Wayne Tillerson was sworn in as the 69th United States Secretary of State. His term ended on March 13, 2018, when being fired by President Trump. In most of the individual states of the United States, the Secretary of State is an administrative officer responsible for certain governmental functions. The specific powers and duties of this office depend on the constitution and laws of the particular
Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State killing of high-ranking al Qaeda figure Abu Yahya al-Libi in one of the U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan, Clinton defended the action, saying "We will always maintain our right to use force against groups such as al Qaeda that have attacked us and still threaten us with imminent attack. In doing so, we will comply with the applicable law, including the laws of war, and go to extraordinary lengths to ensure precision and avoid the loss of innocent life." Indeed, beginning with her 2009 trip to Pakistan, Clinton had faced questions about U.S. drone strikes, which she refused to comment