President Obama is considering appointing Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as the Secretary of Defense, according to the Washington Post.

Cabinet changeups are standard fare at the start of a second presidential term.

Kerry, who is believed to want the Secretary of State job, would replace current Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, according to the Post. If appointed, Kerry would have to resign from the Senate and a special statewide election would have to be held to fill his seat. 

However, appointing Kerry to either seat could have political implications — it could mean the risk of losing Kerry's Senate seat in Massachusetts to Republicans, according to the New York Times. 

Obama not only would have to decide whether to risk Kerry's Senate seat switching parties, but also whether to risk a potential political firestorm by nominating Susan Rice to the Secretary of State post. Rice, who currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, recently has been roundly criticized  for saying the murder of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya was the result of a sudden protest rather than a planned attack, according to the Times. 

Kerry, a 69-year-old Vietnam veteran, was elected to the Senate in 1984 after serving as Massachusetts's lieutenant governor for two years, according to his website.