U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice speaks to the media after a U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria on May 30, 2012 in New York City. The Security Council held discussions following a massacre of more than 100 civilians in Houla. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (CBS) -- United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice met face-to-face with some of her biggest critics on Capitol Hill today. She's making a pitch for their support if she is nominated to be the next Secretary of State.
Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham arrived on Capitol Hill for their meeting with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice.
The GOP lawmakers, along with Senator Kelley Ayotte, have been vocal critics of Rice accusing the ambassador of misleading the public when she said five days after the deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya there was no evidence it was pre-planned. McCain says, "We are troubled by many of the answers we got and some that we didn't get."
Rice needs the Senate's support, if President Obama chooses her to become the next secretary of state.
Ambassador Rice met lawmakers in a secure room on Capitol Hill so they could discuss classified information. An aide to Senator John McCain tells CBS News that she requested the meeting.
Acting CIA Director Michael Morrell joined Tuesday's meetings to help Rice field questions.
Rice says the information she discussed in interviews five days after the attack came directly from the U.S. Intelligence community. Rice says, "I made clear that the information was preliminary and that our investigations would give us the definitive answers."
Two weeks ago, former CIA director David Petraeus told lawmakers someone removed references to terrorism and al Qaida from the agency summary before it went to Rice.
Later this week, Rice meets with Senator Susan Collins, the top Republican on the committee investigating the Benghazi attack.
President Obama has called the criticism aimed at Rice outrageous. He told critics "If they want to go someone they should go after me."