Washington, DC – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned to work today (Jan. 7) to applause and welcoming gestures from her staff according to the state department. Returning after health-related absence, Clinton is all set to testify on the consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, as the sitting secretary, the department confirmed.
Speaking at the daily press briefing at the Foggy Bottom office, Victoria Nuland, the state department spokesperson confirmed, “Let me just say that she will testify. She will testify while she is still sitting Secretary of State.”
Nuland added, “She is prepared to do it in open session, if that’s what the committees would like.”
Clinton’s testimony on the fatal attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi last year has been highly anticipated, as repeatedly the role of the state department in months leading to the attack has been under scrutiny.
With Congress on a break, Nuland said the scheduling of Secretary Clinton’s appearance would not be worked out with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee until after the presidential inauguration on Jan. 21 thus Clinton might have to stay a bit longer in her position.
“Our expectation is that we will be able to sequence this so that she will testify as sitting Secretary,” said Nuland.
On her first day at work, Nuland, said, “Secretary Clinton is back to work … She’s wearing a brilliant pink jacket today … And when she walked in the room, she had a standing ovation from 75 people assembled, and then Deputy Secretary Nides presented her with a gift from all of us in a big box.”
“She opened the box, and inside was a football helmet with the State Department seal, lots of good padding, and also a football jersey that said Clinton on the back and on the front it says number 112, which symbolizes the number of countries that she’s visited as Secretary of State,” said Nuland.
On her overall recovery, Nuland said, “judging by the woman we saw this morning, and the workload she’s got, she seems to be fully recovered.”