BorgHunter
11-09-2004, 05:51 PM
Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans resigned Tuesday, the first members of President Bush's Cabinet to leave as he headed from re-election into his second term.
The resignations were announced by White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who said Bush had accepted the decisions of both secretaries.
"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved," Ashcroft wrote in a five-page handwritten letter to Bush, adding that he believed that the Justice Department "would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration" and that "my energies and talents should be directed toward other challenging horizons."
Bush said in a statement that Ashcroft had "served our nation with honor, distinction and integrity" and had "transformed the [Justice] Department to make combating terrorism the top priority, including making sure our law enforcement officials have the tools they need to disrupt and prevent attacks."
Justice Department sources have said privately for weeks that Ashcroft, 62, who has been a lightning rod for criticism by Democrats and civil liberties activists, was not likely to continue in a second term.
Aides described him as "exhausted" from leading the Justice Department in fighting the domestic war on terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Stress was a factor in health problems earlier this year that resulted in removal of Ashcroft's gallbladder.
Ashcroft's former deputy, Larry Thompson, who recently took a job as general counsel at PepsiCo, is considered a likely successor, Republican officials have said. If appointed, he would be the nation's first black attorney general.
Others prominently mentioned include Bush’s 2004 campaign chairman, former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales.
Both Ashcroft and Evans have served in Bush's Cabinet from the start of the administration.
Administration officials have said it was possible that Evans, a close friend of Bush’s from Texas, would be in line to succeed John Snow as Treasury secretary should Snow leave. But Evans wrote, "I have concluded with deep regret that it is time for me to return home."
In a separate statement, Bush thanked Evans "for his outstanding service to our nation."
"Don shares my belief that the promise of America means our best days lie ahead," the president said. "Together, we have worked to make that a reality."
A name often mentioned for Evans' job at the Commerce Department that of is Mercer Reynolds, national finance chairman for the Bush campaign, who raised more than $260 million to get him re-elected.
The moves came a day after Bush returned to Washington from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., where he spend the weekend discussing what was expected to be a significant reshuffling of his Cabinet.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who had earlier indicated that he was planning on leaving after the first Bush term, said Tuesday: "I'm waiting to talk to the president, and I will let you know my decision very shortly."
Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, two leading administration faces in the Iraq war, have also been mentioned as likely to leave, while national security adviser Condoleezza Rice is reported to have told aides that she plans to return to California.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6446454/
The resignations were announced by White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who said Bush had accepted the decisions of both secretaries.
"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved," Ashcroft wrote in a five-page handwritten letter to Bush, adding that he believed that the Justice Department "would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration" and that "my energies and talents should be directed toward other challenging horizons."
Bush said in a statement that Ashcroft had "served our nation with honor, distinction and integrity" and had "transformed the [Justice] Department to make combating terrorism the top priority, including making sure our law enforcement officials have the tools they need to disrupt and prevent attacks."
Justice Department sources have said privately for weeks that Ashcroft, 62, who has been a lightning rod for criticism by Democrats and civil liberties activists, was not likely to continue in a second term.
Aides described him as "exhausted" from leading the Justice Department in fighting the domestic war on terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Stress was a factor in health problems earlier this year that resulted in removal of Ashcroft's gallbladder.
Ashcroft's former deputy, Larry Thompson, who recently took a job as general counsel at PepsiCo, is considered a likely successor, Republican officials have said. If appointed, he would be the nation's first black attorney general.
Others prominently mentioned include Bush’s 2004 campaign chairman, former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales.
Both Ashcroft and Evans have served in Bush's Cabinet from the start of the administration.
Administration officials have said it was possible that Evans, a close friend of Bush’s from Texas, would be in line to succeed John Snow as Treasury secretary should Snow leave. But Evans wrote, "I have concluded with deep regret that it is time for me to return home."
In a separate statement, Bush thanked Evans "for his outstanding service to our nation."
"Don shares my belief that the promise of America means our best days lie ahead," the president said. "Together, we have worked to make that a reality."
A name often mentioned for Evans' job at the Commerce Department that of is Mercer Reynolds, national finance chairman for the Bush campaign, who raised more than $260 million to get him re-elected.
The moves came a day after Bush returned to Washington from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., where he spend the weekend discussing what was expected to be a significant reshuffling of his Cabinet.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who had earlier indicated that he was planning on leaving after the first Bush term, said Tuesday: "I'm waiting to talk to the president, and I will let you know my decision very shortly."
Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, two leading administration faces in the Iraq war, have also been mentioned as likely to leave, while national security adviser Condoleezza Rice is reported to have told aides that she plans to return to California.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6446454/