US President Barack Obama nominated Senator John F. Kerry, the five-term Democratic senator from Massachusetts, as secretary of state on Friday, as he begins to remake his national security team ahead of his second term

US President Barack Obama nominated Senator John F. Kerry, the five-term Democratic senator from Massachusetts, as secretary of state on Friday, as he begins to remake his national security team ahead of his second term.

Kerry, 69, will replace Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is stepping down after four years as the top US diplomat.

But Obama delayed naming a new Defense chief amid growing criticism of the expected nominee for that post.

UN ambassador Susan Rice, the early favorite for the post, withdrew from consideration Dec. 13 after a tenacious campaign by Republicans who said she misled the country after the attack in September on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Kerry's nomination is likely to sail through Senate confirmation hearings, where he has strong support.

The White House had earlier hoped to make a clean sweep by announcing all nominations to the national security team, including new chiefs of the CIA and Defense Department, at once. But the timetable slipped for various reasons.

He served as Obama’s envoy to the Middle East, Pakistan and South Asia and met Syria's President Bashar al-Assad several times.