WASHINGTON (CNN) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed a rare flash of frustration Monday — calling the vetting process for Obama administration nominees "ridiculous" and "a nightmare."
At a question-and-answer session with staff from the U.S. Agency for International Development, a woman asked her when the agency would be getting a new administrator and "why it's taking so long."
"Let me say it's not for lack of trying," Clinton replied. "The process — the clearance and vetting process — is a nightmare," she told the staff. "It takes far longer than any of us would want to see. It is frustrating beyond words."
The secretary said she "pushed very hard last week, when I knew I was coming here, to get permission from the White House to be able to tell you that help is on the way and somebody will be nominated shortly." But, she said, "the message came back, 'We're not ready.'"
"Anyone who has gone through it or looked at this process will tell you that every administration it gets worse," she added.
"Some very good people just didn't want to be vetted," she explained. "You have to hire lawyers, you have to hire accountants. I mean, it is ridiculous!" - CNN
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