Big Changes Expected in Cabinet Lineup

[adios]

For those longing for the removal of Ashcroft, which has been rumored for quite some time, check this out.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is the cabinet member most often cited as likely to be the first to go. He had gall-bladder surgery this year, and aides often describe him as suffering from stress. An associate of Mr. Ashcroft said yesterday the attorney general was "energized by the election results," which he sees as "a vindication of the attorney general and his tough stands on values and terrorism."

Should Mr. Ashcroft retire, a likely successor would be Larry D. Thompson, one of his former deputies. Mr. Thompson recently accepted -- but hasn't started -- a senior executive post with PepsiCo Inc.

The next attorney general's top priority will be extending the USA Patriot Act enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and a less-polarizing figure than Mr. Ashcroft may have better luck winning the powers Mr. Bush seeks. With stronger Republican majorities in both houses, the Justice Department will likely ask for authority to issue administrative subpoenas -- without a judge's approval -- in terrorism cases. Mr. Bush also wants to pass a law that would allow terror suspects to be held without bail automatically.

Not sure but I'm guessing the above is fairly accurate.

the rest of the article:

Big Changes Expected in Cabinet Lineup
President Acknowledges 'Sport'
Of Speculation as Conjecture Hits Fever Pitch And Touches Almost All Key Figures

By GARY FIELDS, ROBERT BLOCK and GREG IP
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 5, 2004; Page A4

When President Bush sat down with his cabinet yesterday morning to begin plotting the second term, "I warned them of the speculative period," he said at a news conference afterward. "It's a great Washington sport to be talking about who's going to leave and who the replacements may be."

Mr. Bush went on to say that he hadn't yet thought about a new administration lineup, adding that he would start with a postelection retreat at Camp David. That didn't stop the personnel conjecture from reaching a fever pitch yesterday, after months of relative quiet during pre-election uncertainty about whether there would even be a second Bush term.

To date, the cast of characters in the Bush White House has been relatively stable, outside a midterm housecleaning of the first economic team. Yesterday, Mr. Bush said "there will be some changes," but added: "I don't know who they will be." Nevertheless, the turnover rumors have included almost every prominent member of his administration, including both members of the Powell family (father Colin, secretary of State, and son Michael, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission).
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The new lineup could involve a reshuffling of veterans, akin to the Reagan-era swap between Treasury Secretary Donald Regan and Chief of Staff James Baker. As many as five top aides are seen coveting the Treasury slot, should John Snow leave. Among them are Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Chief of Staff Andrew Card. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao may want the Department of Transportation if Secretary Norm Mineta retires.

With Mr. Bush pushing major changes during the next four years, some of the most influential players of his administration won't be cabinet secretaries but top advisers charged with simplifying the tax code and partially privatizing Social Security.

Mr. Bush laid out much of his second-term agenda on the campaign trail, but the details, and prospects for success, hinge on who stays around to implement them. The direction of foreign policy, in particular hinges on which of the sometimes-feuding main players -- Secretary Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice -- remain.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is the cabinet member most often cited as likely to be the first to go. He had gall-bladder surgery this year, and aides often describe him as suffering from stress. An associate of Mr. Ashcroft said yesterday the attorney general was "energized by the election results," which he sees as "a vindication of the attorney general and his tough stands on values and terrorism."

Should Mr. Ashcroft retire, a likely successor would be Larry D. Thompson, one of his former deputies. Mr. Thompson recently accepted -- but hasn't started -- a senior executive post with PepsiCo Inc.

The next attorney general's top priority will be extending the USA Patriot Act enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and a less-polarizing figure than Mr. Ashcroft may have better luck winning the powers Mr. Bush seeks. With stronger Republican majorities in both houses, the Justice Department will likely ask for authority to issue administrative subpoenas -- without a judge's approval -- in terrorism cases. Mr. Bush also wants to pass a law that would allow terror suspects to be held without bail automatically.

After Mr. Ashcroft in the departure speculation comes Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Those around Mr. Ridge say he is building a base so he can be a Republican presidential contender in 2008.

Some Republicans would like to replace Mr. Ridge with Rudolph Giuliani, but the former New York mayor harbors his own presidential ambitions and probably would demur. More likely to take over the department is Retired Adm. James Loy, the current deputy secretary. Adm. Loy is popular on Capitol Hill and said to be a great administrator -- qualities that might make the White House want to keep him where he is. Another possible successor is Asa Hutchinson, currently undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security and a popular Southern politician with law-enforcement experience.

Whoever runs Homeland Security during the next four years faces a daunting list of issues, including intelligence overhaul, getting funding for the immigration and customs enforcement bureau, rolling out a visa-tracking system and seeking funding increases -- amid budget deficits -- for first responders and bolstering maritime and rail security.

The central question in economic policy is whether Treasury Secretary Snow remains. He campaigned heavily for President Bush, especially in his home state of Ohio -- though he gave the Kerry campaign useful fodder by branding job losses there "a myth." He is seen in Congress as ineffectual, and that could make him expendable if Mr. Bush needs somebody stronger to push through tax and Social Security revisions.

Mr. Bush may choose to run those revisions more through the White House. In that case, one of the little-known economic officials who could make a big difference in the coming year is Charles P. Blahous III, a former congressional staffer who is the top administration official on Social Security overhaul.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson is expected to leave at some point during Mr. Bush's second term. Appointed originally as a caretaker to calm tensions after the scandals of his predecessor, Harvey Pitt, Mr. Donaldson has proved a more vigorous corporate reformer than Wall Street expected. Many companies have complained to the White House and a second Bush term could bring the "potential for trying to undo what the SEC has done in the last few years," said one commission official.

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last December, Tommy Thompson, Health and Human Services secretary, said he wouldn't remain long after the election. Yesterday he hinted he might stay, while batting away questions on details. "The president and I have not had a chance to talk yet," he said. Washington lobbyists see a successor in fast-rising Mark McClellan, an economist and physician who oversees Medicare and before that headed the Food and Drug Administration. He would spend a good deal of his term implementing the new Medicare drug benefit.

Education Secretary Rod Paige has been an awkward public speaker and has done little to alleviate growing partisan tensions. He could be succeeded by White House domestic-policy adviser Margaret Spellings, who helped pass Mr. Bush's Texas school overhaul when he was governor.

Transportation Secretary Mineta, the cabinet's sole Democrat, is expected to leave, perhaps to be succeeded by Marion Blakey, head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham is expected to leave, either for the private sector or to take over the Transportation Department, given his close auto-industry ties as a former Michigan senator

[craig r]

[ QUOTE ]
The next attorney general's top priority will be extending the USA Patriot Act enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and a less-polarizing figure than Mr. Ashcroft may have better luck winning the powers Mr. Bush seeks. With stronger Republican majorities in both houses, the Justice Department will likely ask for authority to issue administrative subpoenas -- without a judge's approval -- in terrorism cases. Mr. Bush also wants to pass a law that would allow terror suspects to be held without bail automatically.

[/ QUOTE ]

I honestly don't see how this isn't frightening. Isn't this one of the main reasons that non-Bush supporters did not want him in office? I don't see either "side" wanting something like this. And if something like this passes (i am done hoping for the best) I truly think that a very specific definition of "terrorism" needs to be established.

craig

[MMMMMM]

[ QUOTE ]
And if something like this passes (i am done hoping for the best) I truly think that a very specific definition of "terrorism" needs to be established.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I don't particulary like Ashcroft(he is in the group of 4 in the Bush Admin I can't stand), but I have to say Ashcroft actually did a pretty good job prosecuting the war on terror. There was all this concern about the Patriot Act, but I haven't seen or heard about it being abused, yet. Someone inform me if I am wrong.