US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was admitted to a New York
hospital yesterday with a blood clot linked to a concussion she suffered
earlier this month, the State Department said in an announcement that
looked sure to stir up speculation over the health of one of America's
best-known political figures.
Clinton, 65, has
been out of the public spotlight since mid-December, when officials said
she suffered a concussion after fainting due to a stomach virus.
"In
the course of a follow-up exam today, Secretary Clinton's doctors
discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she
sustained several weeks ago," State Department spokesperson Philippe
Reines said in a statement.
"She is being
treated with anti-coagulants and is at New York-Presbyterian Hospital so
that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours," Reines
said. "They will determine if any further action is required."
US
officials said on December 15 that Clinton, who canceled an overseas
trip because of the stomach virus, suffered a concussion after fainting
due to dehydration.
They have since described
her condition as improving and played down suggestions that it was more
serious. She had been expected to return to work this week.
Clinton's
illness forced her to cancel planned testimony to Congress on Dec. 20
in connection with a report on the deadly attack on the US diplomatic
post in Benghazi, Libya. The attack became the subject of heated
political debate in the run-up to the US presidential election in
November.
Clinton's two top deputies testified
in her place on the September 11 attack in Benghazi, which killed the US
ambassador and three other Americans and raised questions about
security at far-flung diplomatic posts.
Clinton
indicated that she remained ready to testify and was expected to appear
before lawmakers this month before she steps down, as planned, around
the time of Obama's inauguration for his second term in late January.
she became Obama's surprise choice as the top US diplomat
After narrowly losing the Democratic presidential
nomination to Obama in 2008, Clinton has been consistently rated as the
most popular member of his Cabinet and is often mentioned as a potential
presidential candidate in 2016.
Clinton has
said she wants to take a break from public life and has laughed off
suggestions that she may mount another bid to become the first woman
president of the United States.
Her stint as
secretary of state has further burnished the credentials she earned as a
political partner to her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and
later as a Democratic senator from New York.
In
the four years since she became Obama's surprise choice as the top US
diplomat, Clinton has broken travel records as she dealt with immediate
crises, including Libya and Syria, and sought to manage longer-term
challenges, including US relations with China and Russia.
She
has repeatedly said that she only intended to serve one term, and aides
said she was on track to leave office within the next few weeks, once a
successor is confirmed by the Senate.
Her last
months in office have been overshadowed by the Benghazi attack, the
first to kill a US ambassador in the line of duty since 1979, which
brought sharp criticism of the State Department.
An
independent inquiry this month found widespread failures in both
security planning and internal management in the department.
It
did not find Clinton personally responsible for any security failures,
although she publicly took overall responsibility for Benghazi and the
safety and security of US diplomats overseas.
The
State Department's top security officer resigned from his post under
pressure and three other mid-level employees were relieved of their
duties after the inquiry released its report.
The controversy also cost US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice her chance to succeed Clinton as secretary of state.
Rice
drew heavy Republican criticism for comments on several television talk
shows in which she said the attack appeared to be the result of a
spontaneous demonstration rather than a planned assault. She ultimately
withdrew her name for consideration for the top diplomatic job.
Obama
on Dec. 21 nominated Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who
heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to fill the position of
secretary of state.
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