Susan Rice, the top domestic policy adviser to President Joe Biden, will leave her post next month. Rice, who served as Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, had significant influence over the administration’s approach to healthcare, immigration, and racial inequality. Her departure is a surprise, given her long-standing role as a Democratic foreign policy expert, having served as President Obama’s national security adviser and U.N. ambassador. Rice worked closely with then-Vice President Biden in these roles and was on his shortlist to become his running mate during the 2020 campaign.

In a statement announcing her departure, Biden praised Rice’s leadership and determination, saying that no one could get important things done for the American people. Rice oversaw a flurry of executive and legislative action, including health care, policing, gun safety, racial equity, and the $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

Rice’s appointment as the head of the Domestic Policy Council was controversial, with Republicans attacking her for her role in the Obama administration. However, she navigated these challenges and pushed through significant policy changes during her tenure.

One of Rice’s major contributions to the Biden administration’s policy agenda was her involvement in managing surging migrant numbers at the U.S.-Mexico border. This included turning away many migrants who crossed the border illegally and accepting thousands of migrants per month as long as they came legally, had eligible sponsors, and passed vetting and background checks. These decisions were criticized by some immigrant advocates who saw them as a shift to the right and a departure from promises to be more humane in immigration policies.

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Rice’s departure comes at a time when the focus of the Domestic Policy Council will be shifting. With a divided Congress and lower expectations for passing major legislation, the following domestic policy adviser will be tasked with implementing existing policies rather than pushing for new ones.

In a tweet, Rice expressed pride in all that she and the administration had been able to accomplish together for the American people. Her departure will leave a significant void in the Biden administration, as she played a crucial role in shaping its domestic policy agenda. It remains to be seen who will take over her role and whether they will be able to continue her legacy of determined leadership and significant policy achievements.

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A bit of political musical chairs is about to annoy some Republicans. National security adviser Thomas E. Donilon is resigning from his post; as Obama announced Wednesday, he “has decided to step aside at the beginning of July,” and the president is setting Susan E. Rice into his place. She opted out of being considered for secretary of state, after her role in what Republicans say was to misrepresent the Benghazi attack in 2012. The secretary of state role is Senate chosen, but she needs no Senate approval to take the current position, and she has been a longtime confidant to the president, who said, of her, she is “the consummate public servant…she is fearless. She is tough,” and he also mentioned, in a statement entirely besides the point, “It runs in the family,” as her brother, when playing basketball with the president, sometimes is known for “throwing the occasional elbow.”

Well, elbowing with the president can get you a neat position as “the consummate public servant,” but meanwhile Rice’s position will be replaced by Samantha Power, perhaps, who is being nominated for a place on the United Nations. Power, who won a Pulitzer for “A Problem from Hell,” criticized in her book what she sees as U.S. inconsistency in protecting the world from genocide, especially in modern genocides such as Africa and the Balkans.

Following Power’s nomination, Keith Urbahn, former chief of staff to Donald Rumsfeld, tweeted Wednesday morning: “I don’t know about you, but it might be helpful to have somebody rep’ing America at UN who doesn’t think we are the source of the world’s ills.”

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Susan Rice, the United Nations Ambassador who endured criticism for the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, has removed herself from consideration for secretary of state, according to Brian Williams from NBC News.

“If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly — to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama. “That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country … Therefore, I respectfully request that you no longer consider my candidacy at this time.”

Democratic Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts now seems to be the favorite for the position, who would replace Hillary Clinton.

A statement was released by Obama and it said the following:

“Today, I spoke to Ambassador Susan Rice, and accepted her decision to remove her name from consideration for Secretary of State. For two decades, Susan has proven to be an extraordinarily capable, patriotic, and passionate public servant. As my Ambassador to the United Nations, she plays an indispensable role in advancing America’s interests. Already, she has secured international support for sanctions against Iran and North Korea, worked to protect the people of Libya, helped achieve an independent South Sudan, stood up for Israel’s security and legitimacy, and served as an advocate for UN reform and the human rights of all people. I am grateful that Susan will continue to serve as our Ambassador at the United Nations and a key member of my cabinet and national security team, carrying her work forward on all of these and other issues. I have every confidence that Susan has limitless capability to serve our country now and in the years to come, and know that I will continue to rely on her as an advisor and friend. While I deeply regret the unfair and misleading attacks on Susan Rice in recent weeks, her decision demonstrates the strength of her character, and an admirable commitment to rise above the politics of the moment to put our national interests first. The American people can be proud to have a public servant of her caliber and character representing our country.”

Following the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Rice spoke on multiple news programs defending the steps the Obama administration took in response to the attack. Four Americans were killed in the attack, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Rice said that the attack was in response to an anti-Islam video posted on the Internet.

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On Wednesday, United States Ambassador Susan Rice responded to comments made about her and her account of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that killed four Americans. Rice that her account was based on the initial intelligence community assessments. Rice said that she respects Senator John McCain, who has criticized her since her account, but said “some of the statements he’s made about me have been unfounded, but I look forward to having the opportunity at the appropriate time to discuss all of this with him.”

Republicans shot down her initial comments about the attack, which she claimed were caused by an anti-Muslim video posted to YouTube in the United States. The attack occurred on September 11, the 11-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Critics of Rice have said multiple times that it was a terrorist attack on the consulate and not an angry mob that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Rice has received the brunt of the criticism because it has been rumored that she is going to eventually replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who reportedly is not going to return for President Barack Obama’s second term in the White House.

At the United Nations Security Council, Rice told reporters: “As a senior U.S. diplomat, I agreed to a White House request to appear on the Sunday shows to talk about the full range of national security issues of the day, which at that time were primarily and particularly the protests that were enveloping and threatening many diplomatic facilities, American diplomatic facilities around the world, and Iran’s nuclear program. The attack on our facilities in Benghazi was obviously a significant piece of this.”

Just a couple of hours prior to the attack in Benghazi, a mob attached the United States Embassy in Cairo in response to the anti-Muslin video.

“When discussing the attack against our facilities in Benghazi, I relied solely and squarely on the information provided to me by the intelligence community,” she said. “I made clear that the information was preliminary, and that our investigations would give us the definitive answers. Everyone, particularly the intelligence community, has worked in good faith to provide the best assessment based on the information available.”

Rice continued, “You know the FBI and the State Department’s Accountability Review Board are conducting investigations as we speak. And they will look into all aspects of this heinous terrorist attack, to provide what will become the definitive accounting of what occurred.”

“Let me just end by saying I knew Chris Stevens. I worked closely with him and had the privilege of doing so as we tried together, as a government, to free the Libyan people from the tyranny of (Libyan leader Moammar) Gadhafi. He was a valued colleague, and his loss, as well as the loss of his three colleagues, is a massive tragedy for all of us who serve in the U.S. government, and for all the American people,” Rice said.

“None of us will rest, none of us will be satisfied until we have the answers, and the terrorists responsible for this attack are brought to justice,” she said.

The post Susan Rice Responds to Criticisms Against Her first appeared on JDJournal Blog.

President Barack Obama received a letter from a group of House Republicans that says United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice misguided the country about the attack at the U.S. consulate in Libya. The letter, sent by 97 House Republicans, said that Rice is unfit to be a candidate to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to the Associated Press.

The letter was organized by Jeff Duncan, from South Carolina, who said that Rice’s ‘misleading statements’ about the deadly attack helped lead to the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Her statements “caused irreparable damage to her credibility both at home and around the world.”

The letter is just the latest effort to blame Rice for the mixed signals that were sent by the administration following the attack in Benghazi. In the Senate, Republicans Lindsey Graham and John McCain have led the case against Rice, claiming that she is untrustworthy and unqualified. They also promised to block her nomination should Obama pick her to replace Clinton in the State Department should Clinton resign.

Last week, during a news conference, Obama said that Graham and McCain should ‘go after me’ if they wish to offer criticism of his administration’s actions. Obama also made it a point to say that Rice had no part in the Benghazi incident and “to besmirch her reputation is outrageous.”

Last Friday, close to one dozen female Democratic members of the House defended Rice, claiming that the critiques of her were racist and sexist. The problems began for Rice when she appeared on Sunday talk shows just five days following the attack on Benghazi, which occurred on September 11. On the talk shows, Rice said that from the information she had at the time, the attack was in response to an anti-Muslim video and that the attack was not premeditated. Now much later, her assessment of the attack was proven to be incorrect.

In the letter from the House Republicans, Rice “is widely viewed as having either willfully or incompetently misled the American public in the Benghazi matter. We believe that making her the face of U.S. foreign policy in your second term would greatly undermine your desire to improve U.S. relations with the world and continue to build trust with the American people.”

Obama has yet to say who would succeed Clinton in her post, which she has not announced a formal resignation date yet. Rice has been named as a possible successor multiple times. All positions that are senior-level have to be approved by the Senate.

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