Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who skipped an
overseas trip this past week because of a stomach virus,
sustained a concussion after fainting, the State
Department said Saturday.
The 65-year-old Clinton, who's expected
to leave her job soon, was recovering at home after the incident last week and
is being monitored by doctors, according to a statement by aide Philippe Reines.
No further details were immediately
available.
President Barack Obama telephoned his top
diplomat Saturday to wish her well, a White House official said.
The
State Department said Clinton was dehydrated because of the virus, fainted and
sustained a concussion. She will continue to work from home in the week ahead
and looks forward to returning to the office "soon," the statement
said.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee said it won't hear from
Clinton as planned at a Thursday hearing into the Sept. 11 attack against a
U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans,
including the U.S. ambassador. The House
Foreign Affairs Committee also
said Clinton would no longer give scheduled testimony at its hearing Thursday
on Libya.
Senior State
Department officials
William Burns and Thomas Nides are to take Clinton's place at both hearings.
Clinton's aides on Saturday informed the
Senate committee chairman, Sen. John
Kerry, about her health, and the Massachusetts Democrat
"insisted that given her condition, she could not and should not
appear" as planned, said Kerry spokeswoman Jodi Seth. Obama is expected to
nominate Kerry to succeed Clinton.
Clinton
backed out of a trip to North Africa and the Persian Gulf on Monday because she
was sick. She caught the virus during a recent visit to Europe.
The
former first lady is known for her grueling travel schedule and is the most
traveled secretary of state, having visited 112 countries while in the job.
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