President-elect Bush, completing his economic team and re-concluding his Cabinet, chose former Peace Corps Director Elaine Chao as labor secretary and Robert Zoellick, a diplomat in two previous Republican administrations, to be U.S. trade representative.
Two days after his first labor nominee withdrew under fire, Bush also mounted a spirited defense of two other nominees who have generated opposition: former Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., as attorney general and former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton as interior secretary.
"You know, what happens in this town is, the voices of the special interests like to tear people down," Bush said, showing irritation.
He urged "senators to tone down their rhetoric."
Chao, the wife of a Republican senator, was Bush's second selection for Labor and appears likely to be confirmed. He picked her after his first choice, Linda Chavez, withdrew following disclosures that she provided shelter and cash to an illegal immigrant who did household chores.
"I never expected our nominees to sail through without harsh questioning and good confirmation hearings," Bush said as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Washington and headed back to Texas.
Recommended for you
He will return in the middle of next week to await his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Chao, 47, is the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. She served as deputy transportation secretary in the administration of former President Bush and became director of the Peace Corps in 1991. She headed United Way of America from 1992 until 1996 and now is a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Chao, who was born in Taiwan, "deeply believes in the American dream because she has lived it," Bush said. For her part, she said she would "bring to this job the same passion for America that my father demonstrated many years ago when he came to America."
Zoellick, also 47, is a close associate of former Secretary of State James A. Baker III.
When Baker was treasury secretary in the Reagan administration, Zoellick served as his executive secretary, controlling the paper flow into Baker's office. He later was undersecretary of state for economic affairs when Baker headed the State Department in the administration of Bush's father.<
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.