THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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CHICAGO - Associates of U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she is weighing whether to leave the Senate and become secretary of state in president-elect Barack Obama's administration, a job they say she believes is hers if she wants it.

Transition officials for Obama said other candidates have been vetted for the job. But the New York senator has emerged as the leading contender and the vetting of her husband, former president Bill Clinton, has been particularly intense.

Associates say Hillary Clinton has been told Obama wants her to be secretary of state, although accounts differ on how bluntly and directly Obama made the overture. The associates would speak only on grounds of anonymity because of the private nature of the negotiations.

Face-to-face meetings between the transition team and lawyers representing the Clintons have ended but aides to the president-elect said some final vetting is still underway.

Hoping to ease concerns about possible conflicts of interest, Bill Clinton has shifted a long-standing policy and agreed to publicly disclose the names of all donors who have given more than $250 to his presidential library and foundation. Officials were trying to work out the details on how to handle those who gave money on condition their names would not be revealed.

Friends said Hillary Clinton is torn about leaving the Senate, where she served for nearly eight years and where she had hoped to be a leading voice on health care and other issues. She is expected to make a decision very soon.