No to Susan Rice

Like a bad penny, Susan Rice is back. If Joe Biden wins the 2020 presidential election, the former UN ambassador and National Security Adviser is positioning herself to be the next Secretary of State, a post she was denied in 2013 because of the lies she told about the 2011 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

Rice is working closely with Biden’s team and has told the press that she is “very open” to joining a Biden administration.  Former President Obama reportedly is urging Biden to nominate Rice as his Secretary of State.

Biden has long had a close relationship with Rice and reportedly seriously considered her to be his running mate.

Rice lost out to Kamala Harris likely because of the considerable political baggage she carries.  Aside from how Rice mishandled the Benghazi terrorist attacks, this baggage includes her role in unprecedented spying on the Trump campaign and transition; unmasking Trump campaign staff from intelligence reports; leaking intelligence to smear Trump staff to the press; and leaving in place investigations of the incoming Trump administration and not telling Trump officials about these investigations.

Let’s be absolutely clear: Susan Rice collaborated with President Obama, Vice President Biden, FBI Director Comey, and CIA Director Brennan to weaponize U.S. intelligence agencies, the FBI and the Justice Department to undermine the Trump presidency and interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.  The false Russia collusion hoax that Rice played a central role in promoting dogged Trump throughout his presidency.

Rice also has a history of ineptitude that runs throughout her diplomatic and national security career.

As Joe Biden weighs Secretary of State candidates for his presidency (which I hope never occurs), I hope he reviews “Twenty Things You Probably Didn’t Know about Susan Rice” by Jim Geraghty and my sequel to this article, “Five More Things You Probably Didn’t Know about Susan Rice.”  Both articles appeared in National Review over the summer when Biden was considering Rice to be his vice presidential candidate.  The problems with Rice’s record that Geraghty and I outlined disqualified her to be vice president and should also prevent her from returning to the U.S. government in any national security post.

If Biden wins the presidential election and nominates Rice to be Secretary of State or to another senate-confirmable national security post, Senate Republicans should use the above articles as their justification for refusing to confirm Rice due to her record of incompetence and politicizing national security.

Susan Rice by New America is licensed under CC BY 2.0