U.S. Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, is set to face his peers Thursday at a confirmation hearing for his nomination as secretary of state.
The former Democratic presidential candidate is expected to face questions about his military service in Vietnam, the crisis in Syria, and the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline that would run from Canada to the southern U.S. state of Texas.
Kerry, one of the wealthiest U.S. senators, already has remedied one possible roadblock to his confirmation by promising to divest his expansive holdings in companies that could prove a conflict of interest to the nation's top diplomat. Those holdings include companies that do business with the U.S. government and others that could be affected by diplomatic decisions.
Kerry's fortune is estimated at $184 million.
Kerry is expected to easily win confirmation.