Bush Taps Ashcroft And Whitman

President-elect Bush dipped into the conservative and moderate wings of the Republican Party for a pair of Cabinet nominations on Friday.

Bush selected conservative Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft as his nominee for attorney general and then named New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman, a moderate, as his choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

"She has been able to balance the demands for economic growth and at the same time she supported environmental protection measures," Bush said in naming Whitman, once a rising star in the GOP.

Whitman, who grew up on a horse farm, said she was looking forward to the challenge of building "a more prosperous America while meeting our environmental obligations to those who follow us."

In a bow to environmentalists, Bush emphasized he intended to keep the EPA position at the Cabinet level, a change first made by President Clinton that some Republicans opposed.

"I will enforce the law of the United States of America with integrity," Ashcroft said in accepting the nomination. Ashcroft, who lost a bizarre Senate race to Missouri's deceased Gov. Mel Carnahan, also said his political defeat on Nov. 7 gave him "new perspective" and "new opportunity."

A favorite of GOP conservatives who had maneuvered against more moderate choices for the Justice Department, Ashcroft said he would "strive to be a guardian of liberty and equal justice." An ardent foe of abortion, Ashcroft said the rule of law "knows no class, sees no color and bows to no creed," and that will be his guideline.

Another GOP luminary, Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, hopes to follow Ashcroft and Whitman into the Bush administration. Senior Republicans in Washington and Wisconsin said Thompson accepted Bush's offer to be Health and Human Services secretary. They said the announcement would be made next week.

However, two senior Bush advisers said the president-elect had not quite closed the deal with Thompson.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

In his presidential campaign, Bush faced criticism from Democrats and some conservationists for his stewardship of the environment in Texas, where he had been governor since 1995 until his resignation Thursday. Environmentalists argued he didn't fight pollution aggressively enough; During his second term, Houston became the nation's smoggiest city.

Indeed, the EPA itself intends to review clean-air plans the state was forced to submit earlier this month because of persistent smog.

Bush contended the state's air improved on his watch, and said he was behind major air-quality improvement initiatives.

Whitman, 54 and a Republican, championed open-space preservation in New Jersey and refused to abandon an unpopular auto emissions test designed to reduce air pollution.

Critics said that to attract businesses, she compromised water-pollution protections and cut spending for state offices that prosecute environmental abuses by industry.

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said Whitman has a "mixed record on the environment, but on balance we believe the Sierra Club could work with her."

As head of an agency created by President Nixon 30 years ago, Whitman would have to decide whether to pursue Clinton administration environmental initiatives.

For instance, the EPA currently is seeking substantial new pollution controls on coal-fired power plants in the Midwest that pollute the Northeast. She has supported the EPA position.

Bush is moving at a fast clip in filling out his administration, working against a clock that ticked through the five-week electoral deadlock in Florida.

Former Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., long considered a sure-bet for defense secretary, remains a leading candidate, but Bush has told advisers he needs more time to consider his options. He was not expected to decide this week.

In other developments:

GOP sources said Virginia Gov. James Gilmore is Bush's pick to head the Republican National Committee.

Republican consultant Rich Bond, a longtime ally of the Bush family, emerged as a candidate for labor secretary. Rep. Jim Talent of Missouri, who lost a bid to become governor, said he's a candidate too.

Lisa Graham Keegan, Arizona superintendent of public schools, met Thursday with Bush's transition team to talk about the education secretary spot. Keegan, a vocal supporter of Bush primary opponent Sen. John McCain, "felt like it was a good meeting," spokeswoman Patricia Likens said.

Bush and his pick for agriculture secretary, Ann Veneman, were meeting Friday with two-dozen state agriculture officials and heads of farming and ranching organizations.

On Wednesday, a week after he claimed victory in the White House race, the president-elect announced his nominees to head the treasury, agriculture, commerce and housing agencies.

Aluminum executive Paul O'Neill was chosen for treasury secretary and longtime Bush friend and campaign chairman Don Evans for commerce. The president-elect also named Florida county official Mel Martinez as housing and urban development secretary and former California agriculture official Ann Veneman as agriculture secretary.

Late on Wednesday, Montana Gov. Marc Racicot withdrew his name for consideration for appointment as U.S. attorney general, leaving the door open for Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating or former Missouri Sen. John Danforth.

Former Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., is Bush's top choice for defense secretary, according to several advisers. However, they have not explained why the president-elect has delayed making the official announcement.

Despite Bush's hints that he wanted to bring one or perhaps two Democrats into his Cabinet, of the five posts he has filled - retired Army Gen. Colin Powell was tapped as secretary of state on Saturday - none has been filled by a member of the other party.

Speculation about a Democratic nominee centered on the energy and education departments. Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, a Democrat, was a possibility at energy, while former Dallas Democratic Party chairman Sandy Kress of Texas and the Rev. Floyd Flake of New York, a former congressman, were mentioned for education.

A senior Republican close to Bush's team said veterans' affairs could yield a Democratic secretary, adding that Rep. John "Ike" Skelton, D-Mo., and Rep. Norman Sisisky, D-Va., were under consideration. However, Bush could have trouble recruiting Democrats from an almost evenly split House of Representatives.

All of the nominations are subject to approval by the U.S. Senate. Overall, Bush's transition team is plowing through 35,000 resumes from applicants seeking to fill the roughly 6,000 spots in the federal bureaucracy.

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