Bush quickly finds Labour nominee, picks trade rep

1:30 PM

WASHINGTON - President-elect George W. Bush has rebounded quickly from the withdrawal of Linda Chavez's nomination to be labour secretary, picking former transportation department official Elaine Chao for the job.

Bush has also nominated former State Department official Robert Zoellick to be his trade representative confirming he would not go ahead with an earlier plan to downgrade the post.

The president-elect needed a new nominee for labour secretary once Chavez withdrew on Tuesday over a disclosure she had sheltered and paid an illegal immigrant.

Referring to Chao, Bush told reporters: "She brings to this post the qualities for which she is known and admired - strong executive talent, great compassion, and a commitment to helping people build better lives."

Bush also defended his nominees to be attorney general, John Ashcroft, and interior secretary, Gale Norton, against mounting criticism from mostly liberal special interest groups and some Democratic senators.

Referring to Ashcroft, he urged senators to avoid a traumatic debate. "It doesn't have to be hard, if the senators will tone down their rhetoric," he said.

Chao, who arrived in the United States from Taiwan when she was 8, is a former deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation in the administration of Bush's father, former President George Bush. She also is married to powerful Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Zoellick is a veteran of previous Republican administrations. In 1991 and 1992 he served as President George Bush's representative to the G-7 Economic summit.

Bush told reporters he would keep the Cabinet-level rank of the trade representative's post under Zoellick.

He had considered downgrading the job to maintain a smaller Cabinet. But trade experts, some lawmakers and the current trade representative, Charlene Barshefsky, had warned that such a move would harm US prestige on trade issues.

"He'll report directly to me. He'll be a member of the Cabinet, and the reason why the position needs to remain a Cabinet-level position is because of the importance of trade in the global economy. It should reconfirm our nation's commitment to free trade," Bush said.

The announcements were the latest top jobs to be filled before Bush takes office on Jan. 20. He must still fill the posts of UN ambassador and CIA director.

Bush today received an intelligence briefing from CIA Director George Tenet, who is believed to be under consideration to keep in the job.

Bush also met a group of business leaders and educators to highlight his proposals for public schools reforms. He emphasized school accountability for student performance, local control and his voucher-type plan to let parents move students when local public schools are failing.

"I hope it's the first bill we get out of Congress," Bush said of his education plan.

Conservatives have mounted a counterattack against critics who have vowed to derail the nomination of Ashcroft, a former U.S. senator from Missouri.

A coalition of liberal women's groups, civil rights activists, labor leaders, gun control advocates and environmentalists has mobilized to oppose Ashcroft.

The groups are upset by his opposition to abortion rights and gun control and what they regard as inadequate support for civil rights.

But Ashcroft backers including Republican leaders and conservative women's groups denounced what they called a "smear campaign" against Ashcroft.

Bush said he would lobby personally for Ashcroft if needed and said his nominee was prepared for "tough questioning" in his confirmation hearing. "I can't wait for John to have a fair hearing," he said.

"I do think there's going to be some interesting discussions about the law and his willingness to enforce civil rights laws, for example, and he will," Bush said. "I had a good long talk with John about civil rights laws. This is a good man. He's got a good heart."

"I'm confident he'll win the votes," he said.

Bush also expressed confidence that Norton would be confirmed, despite criticisms over her environmental views and a 1996 speech in which she said "we lost too much" when the argument for states rights was used as an unsuccessful defense for slavery before the Civil War.

Bush noted he held some of the same environmental views as Norton, including support for oil and natural gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Other Bush Cabinet choices were sailing through the Senate confirmation process. Education secretary nominee Rod Paige won bipartisan Senate praise on Wednesday and Bush's pick for defense secretary, former Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, was receiving similar treatment on Thursday.