Bush braces for another nomination battle

11:30 AM

WASHINGTON - President-elect George W. Bush's transition is braced for a confirmation battle over Attorney General nominee John Ashcroft, only a day after Linda Chavez withdrew as his choice for labour secretary.

"The John Ashcroft process is marked by this escalating ideological division in this town, and I don't think that's healthy for the process," Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.

Bush was spending the first day of a two-day visit in Washington receiving a top-secret Pentagon briefing, meeting with budget advisers and holding private meetings as he works to fill administration jobs.

Bush takes office on January 20.

Bush also must find a replacement for Chavez, who withdrew following a disclosure she sheltered an illegal immigrant woman and gave "spending money" to her.

The confirmation hearing for Ashcroft, a senator from Missouri who was defeated in a re-election bid last year, is to begin in the Senate on Tuesday.

A coalition of mostly liberal special interest groups has announced they would launch a massive drive to defeat Ashcroft's confirmation. They oppose him over his opposition to abortion rights and gun control and what they regard as inadequate support for civil rights.

Fleischer vowed that Bush would stand behind the Ashcroft nomination, and said there were no similarities between the dispute over Ashcroft and Chavez's scuttled nomination.

"The fight against John Ashcroft is being waged entirely on ideological grounds by some people outside the United States Senate. And that will be a new level of partisanship brought to Washington," he said.

Fleischer said Bush was committed to his nominees. "He's prepared to stand behind each and every one of his nominees all the way through," he said.

A report that one of the groups fighting the Ashcroft nomination, People for the American Way, had obtained "opposition research" against Ashcroft compiled by the Senate campaign of the late Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, drew a harsh response from Fleischer.

"I don't think that's what the American people expect of a thoughtful and serious nomination process. And items like that represent a further coarsening of the dialogue and the tone in Washington, and President-elect Bush would like to contribute to changing that," he said.

Carnahan, although he died shortly before the election, won the vote. His widow, Jean, was named to take the seat. Fleischer said he understood that Sen. Carnahan had nothing to do with People for American Way's obtaining the material.

Republicans said the leading contenders to replace Chavez as the nominee for labour secretary were Elaine Chao, a former deputy secretary of transportation and wife of Republican Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, and former Indianapolis Mayor and Bush adviser Stephen Goldsmith.

The Republicans, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington Republican representative Jennifer Dunn was an option as well but that taking her out of the House could narrow the Republicans' slender majority there.

Also mentioned as possibilities were former Missouri representative Jim Talent and former Republican National Committee chairman Rich Bond.

Bush and his security team of Pentagon veterans got a top secret briefing on global hot spots and U.S. troop deployments from Defence Secretary William Cohen, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Henry Shelton and heads of the armed services.

Bush brought with him to the Pentagon a team of security star power with deep experience at the military headquarters. Bush's pick for defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and Vice President-elect Dick Cheney are both former defence secretaries. Secretary of State nominee Colin Powell is a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Bush's national security adviser Condoleezza Rice also attended the meeting in "the tank," the joint chiefs Pentagon conference room.

At Bush's place at the conference table was a binder with a top secret classification so high that Shelton's spokesman, Navy Captain T McCreary, said the name of the category itself was classified and insisted that it not be used in accounts of the meeting.

During his campaign, Bush said the U.S. military had too many overseas commitments and peacekeeping missions. He promised to review all deployments as well as major weapons programs.

Bush, who takes over the White House on 20 January, has called for spending US$20 billion more on research to accelerate the adoption of new weapons, raise military pay and deploy a national missile defence system as soon as possible.

His administration is due to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the U.S. military before making any budget proposals.

Also Tuesday, Bush met with his choices to head the White House budget office, Mitch Daniels, and the Treasury, Paul O'Neill, and his campaign budget adviser, John Cogan.

Bush would complete an "economic review" by February and follow up later with a full budget proposal, Fleischer
said.

The president-elect was also to hold personnel meetings. He could announce appointments to top unfilled positions in his administration before he returns to Texas on Thursday, aides said. In addition to CIA director and U.N. ambassador, Bush has yet to fill the post of trade representative.

- REUTERS

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