Rice withdraws as secretary of state candidate

WASHINGTON (AP) - Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration to be the next secretary of state after the embattled U.N. ambassador ran into a standoff with Republicans over an attack on Americans in Libya.

President Barack Obama, in a statement, said he accepted Rice's decision to remove her name from consideration. Obama decried what he called "unfair and misleading attacks" on Rice in recent weeks.

A person familiar with the deliberations said support has been trending away from Rice for the past few days.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is perceived internally to be the front-runner for the secretary of state position.

Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is also seen as the front-runner for Obama's next defense secretary.

The person familiar with the deliberations requested anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations.