Clinton checks out State Department offices

updated 6:11 p.m. ET Dec. 8, 2008

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday made her first visit to the State Department since she was named to be the next top U.S. diplomat and planned to dine with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

President-elect Barack Obama's choice for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, was also visiting the State Department's headquarters on Monday. Both Clinton and Susan Rice were meeting with members of the transition team and senior State Department personnel, officials said.

Clinton was to have dinner at Condoleezza Rice's apartment at the Watergate complex later Monday, the officials said. Rice said on Sunday that she thinks Clinton will do a great job as secretary of state.

It was not clear if Clinton and Susan Rice — who had strained relations during the Democratic primaries because Rice early on supported Obama for the presidential nomination — would meet together on Monday, although the transition offices are in a relatively confined area of the building.

There has been speculation that the tension between the two women may carry over into the Obama administration, particularly because the president-elect intends to elevate the U.N. envoy position to a cabinet post, on par with the secretary of state.

Once she is confirmed by the Senate, Clinton will be the country's third female secretary of state following Rice and Madeleine Albright, who served in Bill Clinton's administration. Albright also served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration and was a mentor to Susan Rice, a former State Department official.

Monday's State Department visits came a week after Obama announced he had chosen the women for the diplomatic posts.

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