Hillary Gets Warm Welcome At State Department On First Day As Secretary

January 22, 2009 11:06 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A warm welcome greeted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday as she arrived at Foggy Bottom for her first day as the third woman to serve as America's top diplomat.

"We need to collaborate, and we need to have a sense of openness and candor in this building, and I invite that,'' Clinton is quoted by the Tribune as saying during the welcome ceremony. "Not everybody's ideas will make it into policy, but we will be the better because we have heard from you... This is not going to be easy. I don't want anybody to leave this extraordinarily warm reception thinking, 'Oh good, this is going to be great.' It's going to be hard.''

Clinton is scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at 1:50 pm ET the same day. "National Security Advisor James Jones and Deputy National Security Advisor Tom Donilon will also attend the meeting which will focus on the Administration's pledge to enhance diplomatic efforts to advance America's interests," the White House said in an email announcing the president's schedule.

The former first lady's nomination was confirmed on Wednesday by the full Senate by a 94-2 vote. Her confirmation had been postponed by a day after Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee called for a roll call vote rather than a voice vote, over concerns over the foundation of Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.

"Senator Clinton is uniquely capable and profoundly prepared to lead our State Department at a time of unprecedented global challenges," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had said in a floor speech before the vote. "We face two wars abroad, a complex and unpredictable crisis in the Middle East, the nuclear ambitions of a volatile Iranian regime, together with the complexities of dealing with North Korea."

Concerns about the former president's philanthropic activities and his wife's new role had been raised during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week for Clinton's nomination.

In December, former President Bill Clinton had submitted himself for review as part of the Obama transition team's vetting of his wife. The vetting ensured that there is no conflict of interest between Obama's foreign policy and the former president's numerous global advocacies - such as the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation HIV and AIDS Initiative - and private business dealings, such as his $30 million earnings in speaking fees from 2001 to 2005.

The former president had also agreed to provide the Obama administration with a yearly disclosures of donors, which in the past has included Saudi Arabia. He also agreed to have the Clinton Global Initiative stop accepting donations from foreign governments.