Former New York senator Hillary Clinton officially took the helm at the State Department today, promising a new era in US diplomacy and drawing President Barack Obama as her first VIP guest.
In a sign that he wants diplomacy to play a major role in his administration rather than military might, Mr Obama visited the State Department before going to the Pentagon and told diplomats their work was "critical to our success."
"You will have a secretary of state who has my full confidence," he told a gathering of senior diplomats on Ms Clinton's first full day in the office.
"My appearance today, as has been noted, underscores my commitment to the importance of diplomacy and renewing America's leadership," the president added.
Earlier, about 1,000 employees crammed the entryway to the department and cheered when Ms Clinton arrived.
"I will do all that I can working with you to make it abundantly clear that robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-term tools for securing America's future," Ms Clinton said.
"I believe with all my heart that this is a new era for America," she said.
Underscoring early foreign policy priorities, Ms Clinton and Mr Obama announced the appointment of two special envoys - one to deal with trying to get a "sustainable" peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and another to focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both of the appointees are veteran diplomats - former Northern Ireland negotiator George Mitchell to handle the Middle East and Richard Holbrooke, ex-US ambassador to the United Nations who also negotiated a 1995 peace agreement that ended the Bosnian war.
"Anything short of relentless diplomatic efforts will fail to produce a lasting, sustainable peace in either place," said Ms Clinton before introducing the new envoys.
Ms Clinton, who narrowly lost the contest with Mr Obama to be the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party last year, told employees earlier there were challenging times ahead.
"This is not going to be easy. I don't want anybody to leave this extraordinarily warm reception thinking 'Oh good, this is gonna be great.' This is gonna be hard," she added.
Waiting for Ms Clinton in her seventh floor office was a letter of welcome and advice from Condoleezza Rice, who held the job under president George W. Bush and who came under criticism from staff for not doing enough to increase funding for diplomats.
Ms Clinton won Senate approval on Wednesday despite Republican concerns about the foreign fundraising activities of her husband, former president Bill Clinton.
Separately, the Senate finance committee today backed Mr Obama's nominee to head the US Treasury, Timothy Geithner, overlooking his underpayment of some $34,000 in taxes and clearing the way for a full-Senate confirmation vote.
The 18-5 vote saw half of the panel's 10 Republicans opposing Mr Geithner's nomination. Any Republican senator could object to Democratic plans to push for a swift Senate floor vote later today, delaying the process.
Full Senate approval is needed for Mr Obama's key economic cabinet member to start work on tackling a financial crisis that is threatening to worsen a year-long recession as job losses mount.
Mr Geithner told the committee on Wednesday that the Obama administration in coming weeks will unveil a multipronged approach to stabilise the housing market strengthen banks and support consumer credit to help the economy begin to recover.
The vote came as major stock indexes fell around 3 per cent after Microsoft reported grim earnings and large layoffs, and government data showed further deterioration in the economy. The committee's vote did help the dollar regain some ground against the yen.
Mr Geithner, who currently heads the New York Federal Reserve Bank, was considered by many to be an ideal candidate for the job because of he has already been deeply involved in government efforts to prop up financial institutions and markets amid the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.
Reuters