By Adam Graham-Silverman, CQ Staff

Despite some questions about campaign statements and her husband’s work, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton , D-N.Y., appears to face a smooth path to Senate confirmation as secretary of State.

John Kerry , the Massachusetts Democrat who will chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its confirmation hearings next month, praised her Monday, along with the rest of the national security team announced by President-elect Barack Obama .

“My friend and colleague Hillary Clinton will bring her years of experience and her remarkable intellect to the effort to restore our alliances and advance the President’s agenda in the world,” Kerry said. “As the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I look forward to working with my distinguished colleague Sen. Richard Lugar to ensure a swift and fair confirmation process and working closely with the new Administration.”

Over the weekend, Indiana Republican Richard G. Lugar , the ranking member on Foreign Relations, praised the picks as well.

“I think they’re excellent selections. I think it will be a strong team,” he said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” adding that the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, gave new urgency to approving Obama’s picks.

“Bipartisan support of this team really is of the essence right now,” Lugar said.

As rumors swirled in recent weeks about Clinton’s selection, GOP conservatives praised her as well. Minority Whip Jon Kyl , R-Ariz., said the New York Democrat was “a very good selection,” and the conservative Weekly Standard called her “The Great Right Hope” in a headline.

“The thought of Hugo Chavez and Vladimir Putin staring into the clueless eyes of John Kerry and/or Bill Richardson roused still more anxiety. Better the steely gimlet-eyed stare of a Hillary Clinton,” Noemie Emery wrote in the magazine.

As he unveiled his national security team at a Chicago news conference on Monday, Obama called Clinton an “American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world’s leaders, who will command respect in every capital, and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world.”

At the news conference, Clinton said that challenges such as terrorism, global warming and the global economy convinced her to accept the post and leave the Senate.

“The fate of our nation and the future of our children will be forged in the crucible of these global challenges,” she said. “America cannot solve these crises without the world, and the world cannot solve them without America. And while we are determined to defend our freedoms and liberties at all costs, we also reach out to the world again seeking common cause and higher ground.”

Questions About Bill Clinton

In order to avoid potential conflicts of interest with his wife’s diplomatic work, former President Bill Clinton has agreed to disclose all past and future donors to the foundation that runs his charitable programs overseas and funds his presidential library. He also agreed to incorporate the Clinton Global Initiative separately from the Clinton Foundation and submit his future work to ethics review.