The appointment required a Saxbe fix, which was passed and signed into law in December 2008 before confirmation hearings began. As part of the nomination, Bill Clinton agreed to accept a number of conditions and restrictions regarding his ongoing activities and fundraising efforts for the Clinton Presidential Center and Clinton Global Initiative.

So at the end of the day, when your president asks you to serve, you say yes, if you can.' Clinton said she was reluctant to leave the Senate, but that the new position represented a 'difficult and exciting adventure'. And, you know, I'm pretty old-fashioned, and it's just who I am.

I finally began thinking, look, if I had won and I had called him, I would have wanted him to say yes. Clinton wavered over the offer, but as she later related, 'But, you know, we kept talking. There was as well considerable media speculation about what effect taking the position would have on her political career and any possible future presidential aspirations. In addition, there was a specific concern whether the financial and other involvements of Bill Clinton's post-presidential activities would violate any conflict-of-interest rules for serving cabinet members. She told Obama: 'it will be a circus if I take this job', making reference to the volatile effect Bill had during the primaries. A different complication was her husband's role. The prospect of her ever becoming Senate Majority Leader seemed dim. While the Senate leadership had discussed possible leadership positions or other promotions in rank with her even before the cabinet position became a possibility, nothing concrete had been offered. Ĭlinton was conflicted whether she wanted to take the position or remain in the Senate, and agonized over her decision. Consideration of Clinton was seen as Obama wanting to assemble a 'team of rivals' in his administration, as had Abraham Lincoln.

Despite the aggressiveness of the campaign and the still-lingering animosities between the two campaign staffs, as with many primary battles, the political differences between the candidates were never that great, the two rivals had reportedly developed a respect for one another, and she had campaigned for him in the general election. Obama had specifically criticized Clinton's foreign policy credentials during the contests, and the initial idea of him appointing her had been so unexpected that she had told one of her own aides, 'Not in a million years.' However, Obama had been thinking of the idea as far back as the 2008 Democratic National Convention. When the possibility became public on November 14, it came as a surprising and dramatic move, especially given the long, sometimes bitter battle the two had waged during the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Clinton initially turned Obama down, but he persisted. Secretary of State in his administration. Within a week after the November 4, 2008, presidential election, President-elect Obama and Clinton discussed the possibility of her serving as U.S. Hillary Clinton nominated as US Secretary of State.

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