Obama to nominate acting Education Secretary King to fill post permanently

Reuters
John B. King Jr., who has been appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama to succeed U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington October 2, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will officially nominate acting Education Secretary John B. King to fill the post permanently, he said in a statement on Thursday, urging the Senate to quickly confirm King for the job. King has been the acting secretary since the beginning of the year, after Arne Duncan stepped down from the post. The White House had said in January that it was unclear whether the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress would confirm King in the year remaining in Obama's presidency. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Eric Walsh)