The Hill News

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) on Thursday applauded President Obama for selecting Leon Panetta and Gen. David Petraeus to lead the Pentagon and CIA, saying he expects both will easily be confirmed.

“Leon Panetta and Gen. Petraeus are first-rate public servants whose reputations and records transcend party, and I expect broad approval and swift confirmations,” Kerry said in a statement hours before Obama will formally announce his selections.

By shifting Panetta, the current CIA director, to the Pentagon and Petraeus from his post as U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan to the intelligence agency, Obama is ensuring “continuity of leadership, policy, and philosophy and keeps a strong national security team in place,” Kerry said.

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