Hillary Clinton Silent About Cabinet Post Under Obama Administration

Albany, NY (AHN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) on Friday refused to say if she was being considered by President-elect Barack Obama as Secretary of State, saying she would "respect" her former rival's process.

Making remarks at the New York State Public Transit Industry Fall Conference, Clinton said. "I'm not going to speculate or address anything about the president-elect's incoming administration... I'm going to respect his process and any inquiries should be directed to his transition team," according to CNN.

The former first lady met with the president-elect Thursday in Chicago, several reports, including those from NBC and the Huffington Post, have said.

During the general election campaign, Clinton had been reported as a potential running mate for Obama. But she was never formally vetted, aggravating an already bitter rift between her and Obama's supporters.

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has also been reported as in the running for secretary of State. He is the ranking Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance and critic of the war in Iraq.

Also in the shortlist is Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), an early endorse of Obama and a decorated Vietnam War veteran, chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs.

Other reported contenders include New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Energy secretary during the Clinton administration, and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, the first co-chair of the Democratic Policy Committee.

Another Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), is also in the list. Lugar is a former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He visited Russia with Obama in 2005 to inspect nuclear facilities. His bill, the Nunn-Lugar Act of 1992, was passed two years after that trip.

The law seeks to eliminate weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union as well as reduce the use, production and stockpiling of nuclear materials all over the world.