- George W. Bush Cabinet
United States PresidentGeorge W. Bush has appointed a diversecite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22082-2004Dec23.html |title=Diversity and the Bush Cabinet |accessdate=2007-08-30 |author=Neal, Terry |date=2004-12-23 |publisher="The Washington Post "] and controversialcabinet .In 2006, Bush replaced long-time chief of staff
Andrew Card withJoshua Bolten and made major staff and cabinet changes with the intention of revitalizing his Administration. [cite web | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12048598/from/ET/ | title=White House shake-up: Chief of staff resigns | date=March 28 2006 | publisher=MSNBC.com | author=Associated Press | accessdate=2006-09-30 ]On
November 8 ,2006 (the day after the Democrats took back Congress in the midterm elections), Bush announced plans to replace Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld with former CIA DirectorRobert Gates . Gates was confirmed by the Senate onDecember 6 and took office as the 22ndSecretary of Defense onDecember 18 . [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6190279.stm|title=New US defence secretary sworn in|work=BBC News |date=December 18 2006 ]Attorney General
Bush's second Attorney General,
Alberto Gonzales , may have been one of his most controversial appointments. In addition to his work on approving torture techniques prior to his appointment, [cite news | title=The President's Yes Man |first=Alan |last=Berlow |date=November 21 2004 |page=B07 |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A64024-2004Nov19?language=printer |accessdate=2007-08-30] [cite web | url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/cheney/chapters/pushing_the_envelope_on_presi/index.html | title=Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power | publisher=Washington Post | author=Barton Gellman and Jo Becker | date=25 June 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-30] as Attorney General, he claimed there was no right to "Habeas Corpus ". [cite news | first=Bob | last=Egelko | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle | title=Gonzales says the Constitution doesn't guarantee habeas corpus | date=January 24 ,2007 | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/24/MNGDONO11O1.DTL | accessdate=2007-06-19] Michael Bernard Mukasey, is an American lawyer, presently the 81stAttorney General of the United States , and followsAlberto Gonzales , who resigned from the office.Labor
Bush's first nomination for Secretary of Labor was
Linda Chavez . This nomination came under attack when evidence came to light that she had given money to anillegal immigrant fromGuatemala who lived in her home. Chavez claimed that the woman was not an employee and she had merely provided her with emergency assistance due to the domestic abuse the woman had been facing at the time. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010109/aponline172303_000.htm Chavez Withdraws As Labor Nominee]Associated Press article in theJanuary 9 ,2001 Washington Post , accessed onlineNovember 22 ,2006 .] The scandal was reminiscent of the scuttled nomination ofZoë Baird byBill Clinton for Attorney General in 1993, however, and Chavez's nomination was withdrawn.Energy
Bush's first Secretary of Energy,
Spencer Abraham was controversial at the time of his 2001 appointment because as a senator he co-sponsored S.896, a bill to abolish theUnited States Department of Energy , in 1999. [cite web | url=http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0115-06.htm | title=Leading Environmentalists Urge Senate to Oppose Abraham | date=January 15 2001 | publisher=Common Dreams | author=Mark Helm|date=2001-01-15 | accessdate=2007-08-30 ]Samuel Wright Bodman III ,Sc.D. is theUnited States Secretary of Energy and was previously Deputy Secretary of theU.S. Treasury Department .Homeland Security
When
Tom Ridge announced his decision to resign as Secretary of Homeland Security, Bush's first choice to replace him wasBernard Kerik , who served asPolice Commissioner of the City of New York during theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks . Kerik's nomination raised controversy when it was discovered that he had perviously hired an undocumented worker as a nanny and housekeeper. After a week, Kerik pulled his nomination and Bush went on to nominateMichael Chertoff . [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00B11F73F540C738FDDAF0894DE404482 "As Kerik Faces Court, Questions Persist on Background Check"] by William K. Rashbaum "The New York Times "30 June 2006 .]References
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