Trump broadens search for US Secretary of State

New York, Dec 5: President-elect Donald Trump has broadened his search for the post of US Secretary of State, a transition team spokesperson announced.

"It is true that he's broadened the search and he's very fortunate to have interest among serious men and women, all of whom need to understand that their first responsibility as Secretary of State would be to implement and adhere to the president-elect's 'America First' foreign policy," Kellyanne Conway told reporters at Trump Tower in New York on Sunday.

Last week, the transition team said that the short list of candidates contained four names, including 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who had lobbied strongly against Trump during this election cycle, Efe news agency reported.

Conway admitted that now there are "more than four" people on the list saying that the selection of the top US diplomat is "incredibly important" and should not be rushed.

The other three people who have been considered so far are former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, retired Gen. David Petraeus and the Head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker.