Bush nominee withdraws

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JAN. 10. In what is clearly the first major setback to the transition efforts of the President-elect, Mr. George W. Bush, his Labour Secretary nominee, Ms. Linda Chavez, has withdrawn her name in the wake of growing criticism in the last few days of the alleged assistance she gave to an illegal alien.

Complaining that a ``search and destroy'' effort was forcing her to get out of the incoming Bush administration, Ms. Chavez announced on Tuesday afternoon that her relationship with a Guatemalan immigrant in the early 1990's had become a ``distraction''.

At a time when Ms. Chavez's professional and ideological credentials were undergoing intense scrutiny by Democrats and Labour groups, news surfaced that she had an illegal alien stay with her for about two years doing a variety of odd jobs and in return getting free housing and some spending money.

Critics immediately pounced on Ms. Chavez, saying she had not been paying a proper salary and social security.

Mr. Bush, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday for a brief stay, tried to make the best out of a bad situation by insisting that Ms. Chavez would have been an asset at the Labour Department.

``I absolutely believe she would have been a fine Cabinet Secretary, but I understand her reluctance to move forward'', he remarked.

Mr. Bush had not spoken with Ms. Chavez directly on Tuesday but he learned of her decision early afternoon from his Vice- President-elect, Mr. Richard Cheney.

Ms. Chavez had a meeting with Mr. Cheney and the incoming White House Chief of Staff, Mr. Andrew Card. Later in an interview, Ms. Chavez seemed to suggest that the Bush team had not been very supportive.

``I have also been around this town long enough to know that if no one is calling you and saying `hang in there', that is not a great signal either'', she told CNN.

Democrats on Capitol Hill and Labour and other interest groups have not immediately responded to Ms. Chavez's exit, but the development will have hardly any bearing on the strategies being evolved for two other nominees of the Bush administration - Ms. Gale Norton as Interior Secretary and Mr. John Ashcroft, nominee for Attorney General.

Of the two, there is the intense focus on Mr. Ashcroft. Democrats, civil rights leaders and activists are gunning for the former Republican Senator for his track record on social and political issues.

A candidate of the religious right wing, Mr. Ashcroft is being criticised for his conservative views on abortion and over the fact that he had actively opposed the appointment of an African American Judge to the Federal Court Bench.

Supporters of Mr. Ashcroft in the Senate and elsewhere are confident that he has impeccable credentials that will carry him through the nomination and confirmation process; and the expectation is that if push comes to shove, the incoming administration will put up a spirited fight on behalf of Mr. Ashcroft quite unlike the manner in which it conducted itself in Ms. Chavez's case.

And there is something called Senate collegiality where the present law makers do not reject ``one of their own'' unless, of course, there was something terribly wrong.

In the case of Mr. Ashcroft, a compelling argument is being made that he stands by his conservative principles and that he will faithfully implement the laws of the land.

But both Mr. Ashcroft and the incoming administration know full well the kind of political fight that is in store, and perhaps a bruising one too.

Meanwhile, prior to making his ``final'' move to Washington next week, Mr. Bush has dropped by this city for two days. He has plans to meet the outgoing Defence Secretary, Mr. Richard Cohen, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for a military briefing.

Apart from having meetings with his staff, Mr. Bush is also likely to make some major appointments.

Some of the positions still open are the next Ambassador to the United Nations, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Trade Representative.

Among the contenders for the USTR post are Mr. Robert Zoellick, a former senior official of the earlier Bush administration and Mr. Richard Fischer, the current deputy trade representative.

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Section  : International
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