Clinton returns to work at State

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned to work at the State Department Monday following a full month of absence from the public eye due to a stomach illness, a concussion, and a blood clot in her brain.

The State Department released the above photo of Clinton at the State Department chairing her regular meeting of assistant secretaries. Several other top State Department officials attended this meeting, including Deputy Secretary Bill Burns, Deputy Secretary Tom Nides, Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills, Undersecretary Wendy Sherman, Undersecretary Pat Kennedy, Undersecretary Bob Hormats, and Counselor Harold Koh, who is apparently still on the job despite announcing his resignation.

“When she walked in the room, she had a standing ovation from 75 people assembled,” State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said today.

Clinton is keeping a light schedule this week and has no other public events scheduled today. Tomorrow, her only scheduled meeting so far is a noon White House confab with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon.

On Wednesday, Clinton will meet with her management team in the morning and attend a White House meeting in the afternoon. On Thursday, Clinton will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and host a working dinner with him at the State Department.

The State Department leadership presented Clinton with a surprise gift at today’s morning meeting: a football helmet with the Department of State logo on it and a jersey with her name and the number 112, the number of foreign countries she visited while she was secretary of State.

“Washington is a contact sport,” Nides said when presenting Clinton with the gift.