Bush Rounds Out Cabinet

President-elect George W. Bush has finished stocking his Cabinet and found his promised Democrat - a current Clinton Cabinet member - in the process.

"I can't think of a better way to start the new year than to round out a Cabinet, one of the strongest that I think any president has ever been able to assemble," Mr. Bush said at a Tuesdsay afternoon news conference in Austin, Texas.

He tapped current Commerce Secretary Norman Mineta, a Democrat, to be transportation secretary; outgoing Mich. Sen Spencer Abraham, defeated for re-election in November, to be secretary of energy; and Linda Chavez, who served as director of the civil rights commission under President Ronald Reagan, to be secretary of labor.

Mineta said "I am a Democrat with both a small d and a large one," and that in the hard-fought contest between Mr. Bush and Vice President Al Gore, "I was proud to stand with my party."

Abraham said the new administration has people with "incredible expertise" in energy. Mr. Bush and Vice President-elect Dick Cheney have extensive backgrounds in the oil industry.

Chavez said that as secretary she will "keep faith with the men and the women who still work" in jobs like those her working class parents held. She said she will vigorously enforce department regulations against discrimination.

The three announcements were the last of 15 Cabinet positions Mr. Bush needed to fill. He still has several other high-profile appointments outstanding, such as CIA director, U.S. trade representative, and U.N. ambassador.

Mineta, who for 20 years was a California congressman, became the first Asian-American to hold a Cabinet job when he was selected six months ago by President Clinton to fill a vacancy created when William Daley became Al Gore's campaign manager.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Tuesday that he expected confirmation hearings by various committees could begin next week. He also said "a major portion" of Bush's nominees could be ready for full Senate confirmation by Jan. 22, two days after Bush's inauguration.

Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Bush held a national security briefing and met with Vice President-elect Cheney at the Texas governor's mansion.

Mr. Bush's appointment of former Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lawrence Lindsey as his top White House economic adviser was also expected soon, perhaps ahead of a two-day high-level economic forum planned for midweek, a Republican source said.

The president-elect completed the process of choosing his Cabinet in record time. Less than a month ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decision finally ended the disputed presidential election and essentially handed him the keys to the White House.

Mr. Bush and his aides are proud of the effort, particularly because legal wrangling over the inconclusive November vote cost them 36 days of transition time.

"It took five weeks for President Nixon to name all his Cabinet secretarie, it took eight weeks for President Carter, it took 10 weeks for President Reagan, it took nine weeks for President George Bush (father of the president-elect), and it took eight weeks for President Clinton," transition spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

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The forum takes place against a backdrop of vigorous debate over U.S. economic growth, with the Bush team insisting that a slowdown is in sight and the outgoing Clinton administration saying the economy remains robust.

The first session will be attended by business executives, Wall Street leaders and economists and will be led by Mr. Bush, along with Treasury Secretary-designate Paul O'Neill, Commerce Secretary nominee Don Evans, and Lindsey.

On the second day, Mr. Bush has invited about 20 leaders from America's high-tech community to focus on promoting free trade, lightening regulation, improving education, and attracting people to jobs in the industry.

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