Senior Republicans opposed to Susan Rice becoming the next secretary of state softened their tone on Sunday, with one suggesting that he could change his mind if the UN ambassador explained her much-discussed comments on the Benghazi attack of 11 September. 
 
 Senator John McCain had been among those gearing up for a showdown in Washington over the issue, with a series of opponents to President Barack Obama suggesting they would block Rice's nomination as Hillary Clinton's successor in the state department, should it be made. 
 
 Republicans have claimed that Rice misled the public in the aftermath of a deadly assault on the US consulate in Benghazi, in which four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed. Rice suggested in television interviews that intelligence information pointed towards a spontaneous attack, prompted by protest over a US-made anti-Muslim film. It has since been accepted that the attack on the consulate was a terrorist assault. 
 
 However, in evidence given to a congressional committee, the former CIA chief David Petraeus is believed to have said that a report handed to Rice on the day after the attack neglected to mention the terrorist link. 
 
 Moreover, a CBS report has claimed that it was the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that omitted the words "al-Qaida" and "terrorism" from the notes which were handed to Rice prior to her TV appearances. If true, it would appear to absolve the diplomat of any blame. 
 
 Rice has consistently hit out at suggestions that she deliberately misled the public, and Obama has defended his presumed state department pick, saying that attacks on her character were "outrageous". But McCain and other senior Republicans continued to criticise Rice, vowing to oppose attempts to put her into a role that would require Senate confirmation. Their position now looks increasingly clumsy, especially at a time, after its election defeat, when the Republican Party has been characterised as being anti-women. 
 
 Asked on Fox News Sunday if he could change his mind on Rice becoming secretary of state, McCain said: "Sure. She can. I'd give everyone the benefit of explaining their position and the actions that they took. I'd be glad to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with her." 
 
 Another senior Senate Republican, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said on Sunday that Rice had a "lot of questions" to answer, should she reach a Senate confirmation hearing as secretary of state. But he declined to repeat an assertion that Rice's remarks on Benghazi disqualified her from the post. 
 
 Peter King, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives homeland security committee, has also criticised Rice. Asked on Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press about the Benghazi attack, he said "on this she was wrong". He did, however, add that Rice had done an "effective job" at the United Nations. ||||| Senator John McCain of Arizona said he would oppose Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and would seek to block the nomination if President Barack Obama picks her for the job. 
 
 “I’m adamantly opposed and will do everything I can to keep her from getting confirmed,” McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview. He said she shouldn’t get the position because of her remarks about the fatal Sept. 11 attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. 
 
 Rice, 47, remarked on Sunday television talk shows on Sept. 16 that the Benghazi attack began as a peaceful protest that was “hijacked” by militants. The Obama administration said she based her comments on intelligence reports at the time. Republicans have questioned whether Rice was trying to conceal that terrorists were behind the assault. 
 
 Rice is considered a favorite to be secretary of state when Clinton leaves the administration, according to White House officials who have spoken about the position on condition of anonymity. 
 
 To contact the reporter on this story: David Lerman in Washington at Dlerman1@bloomberg.net; 
 
 To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net
– Paging John Kerry: Susan Rice is withdrawing her name from consideration to be the next secretary of state, reports NBC News. The move makes Senator Kerry the leading candidate to replace Hillary Clinton. Rice, the current US ambassador to the UN, has been on the defensive over her initial comments in the wake of the Benghazi attack, with critics accusing her of trying to downplay any link to terrorism. “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 to President Obama. (Full text via Politico here.) “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." Obama accepted her decision but criticized what he termed the "unfair and misleading attacks against her," reports the Wall Street Journal. It might not have helped Rice's case on Capitol Hill that she has the reputation of being an "undiplomatic diplomat."