Senate confirms Powell, Rumsfeld, O'Neill for Bush Cabinet

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate on Saturday confirmed the top tier of President George W. Bush's Cabinet -- secretaries of state, defense and treasury.

Following tradition, senators met briefly in the Capitol shortly after Bush was sworn in as the nation's 43rd president. On quick voice votes, the Senate approved retired Gen. Colin Powell to head the State Department, former Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld for a second turn as defense secretary and retired industrialist Paul O'Neill for the Treasury post.

Other confirmations included Ann Veneman as agriculture secretary, Don Evans as commerce secretary, Spencer Abraham as energy secretary, and Rod Paige as education secretary.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, had voiced concern about Abraham advocating dumping nuclear waste in his home state of Nevada, but withdrew his objection and allowed the confirmation to go forward.

This first batch of Bush nominees breezed through their confirmation hearings earlier this week.

Senate Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi said the Senate most likely would confirm most of Bush's other Cabinet picks next week.

Additional contentious debate over Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft's nomination for U.S. attorney general, however, could push the process beyond next week.

After a heated four-day confirmation hearing, Ashcroft still may face a long debate on the Senate floor, led by Democrats upset with the choice. Several senators, led by Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, accuse Ashcroft of being "out of the mainstream of society" describing Ashcroft's stances against abortion and gun control as being too conservative.

Also, Senate committee confirmation hearings for Transportation secretary nominee Norman Mineta, Labor secretary nominee Elaine Chao and U.S. trade representative nominee Robert Zoellick are not scheduled until next week, also likely pushing their full Senate votes into the following week.

Powell, who oversaw U.S. forces during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, will be the first African-American secretary of state and the highest-ranking ever in the U.S. government.

The secretary of state, who oversees international policy, ranks fifth in the hierarchy of U.S. government officials.

Powell served as national security adviser to former President Ronald Reagan and then as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the first Bush administration and at the beginning of the first Clinton administration.

Rumsfeld, a former congressman from Illinois and White House chief of staff under former President Gerald Ford, was the youngest-ever defense secretary at age 43 serving under Ford from 1975 to 1977.

During his long career, Rumsfeld also held high-level posts in the Nixon administration and headed a bipartisan commission that concluded two years ago that U.S. intelligence officials have been too relaxed.

O'Neill, retired chairman of Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc., was a Washington hand in the 1960s and 1970s, including a stint as deputy budget director under Ford.

He joined International Paper Co., a paper and forest products giant, in 1985, and two years later moved to Alcoa as chairman and chief executive of the world's largest aluminum manufacturer.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Saturday, January 20, 2001

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• Senate confirms Powell, Rumsfeld, O'Neill for Bush Cabinet
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• Protesters line inaugural parade route
• Bush gets keys to White House, flexes first presidential muscles
• Clintons departs Washington after emotional farewell ceremony
• List of presidential pardons
• Chris Black: Bush faces tough task with Washington Democrats
• Jamie McIntyre: Administration to reassess national security strategies
• Kelly Wallace: Bush now gets down to business
• Bush address calls for unity in 'a nation of character'
• Election reform rally held in Tallahassee, without Jesse Jackson
• In one of his last acts as president, Clinton grants more than 100 pardons
• Lott indicates confirmations likely this afternoon
• Tribute to former President Bush yields discussion of Florida Election
• Bill Press: Clinton walks off the stage
• Stuart Rothenberg: For George W. Bush, the past is prologue
• Robert Novak: Inauguration speech is Bush's first test
• Bush receives Texas-sized welcome to Washington at Black Tie & Boots gala

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