UPDATE: Obama Nominates Sen. John Kerry for Secretary of State

UPDATED:

John Kerry is President Obama's pick to become the next Secretary of State, and replace Hillary Clinton as the nation's top diplomat.

Many expected Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to be the president's pick after U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice took her name out of the running last week. Rice had been under scrutiny by Republicans in Congress for statements she made in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The scramble to replace Kerry is already on; a poll done for WBUR showed yesterday that Republican Scott Brown would lead if the special election to replace Kerry were held today.