President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give a joint interview to CBS's 60 Minutes news program scheduled to air on Sunday, the White House announced yesterday.

According to Reuters, the interview, conducted at the White House yesterday, comes as Clinton prepares to step down from her post and as the Senate confirmation process ahead for US Senator John Kerry, who was picked by Obama to be Clinton's successor.

On Wednesday, Clinton strongly defended her handling of the deadly September attack on the US diplomatic mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi, surprising Republican critics with a spirited rebuttal as she denied any effort to mislead the American people.

Conservative commentators watched an opportunity to discredit the administration unravel thanks to Clinton's strong showing, which has renewed speculation if Clinton, who leaves with high public approval ratings, will make another White House run in 2016.

The joint interview will be broadcast at 7PM EST, and will be Obama's first since his inauguration on Monday. It will also be the first time he and Clinton have been interviewed jointly.