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Bush moving quickly to find Ashcroft replacement
November 10, 2004

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has resigned from the Bush Cabinet. "I believe that my energies and talents should be directed toward other challenging horizons," he said. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans also announced his resignation. ((Photo by MARCEL ANTONISSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Washington D.C. — (AP) - President Bush is moving swiftly toward naming a successor to Attorney General John Ashcroft, and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales has emerged as the leading candidate for the job.

Two administration officials said Gonzales, a longtime Bush friend who served with him in Texas, was the likely successor to Ashcroft and that the president could act as early as Wednesday. He would be the first Hispanic attorney general. Another leading candidate was Bush's 2004 campaign chairman, former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot.

Shifting Gonzales to Justice would leave a vacancy in the White House counsel's office. Bush advisers said two people would be naturals for the job. One is White House staff secretary Brett Kavanaugh, a lawyer who has been waiting nearly 16 months for confirmation on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He was also a top lawyer in two cases that dogged the Clinton White House. As associate independent counsel under Kenneth Starr, he worked on both the long-running Whitewater case and the 1998 Clinton impeachment case.

Harriet Miers, a deputy chief of staff who was once Bush's personal lawyer, would be another candidate, one Bush adviser said.

	Ashcroft's replacement?

Ashcroft announced his resignation on Tuesday, along with Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a Texas friend of the president's.

After a National Security Council meeting, Bush was sitting down Wednesday with Secretary of State Colin Powell, another figure being closely watched for signs of whether he will stay or go. Powell has been largely noncommittal when asked about his plans.

The gospel-singing son of a minister, Ashcroft is a fierce conservative who doesn't drink, smoke or dance. His detractors said he gave religion too prominent a role at the Justice Department - including optional prayer meetings with staff before each work day.

He has also been a willing lightning rod for critics who said his policies for thwarting terrorists infringed on the rights of innocent people.

Ashcroft championed many of the most controversial government actions following the Sept. 11 attacks, most notably the USA Patriot Act. It bolstered FBI surveillance powers, increased use of material witness warrants to hold suspects incommunicado for months and allowed secret proceedings in terrorist-related immigration cases. When there was a break in a terror case, he was the man at the lectern soberly informing the American people.

"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved," Ashcroft said in his handwritten resignation letter to the president, dated Nov. 2 - Election Day. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush had received the letter that same day, before the results of the election were known.

We wish John Ashcroft good health and a good retirement. And we hope the president will choose a less polarizing attorney general as his successor. - Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

"I believe that the Department of Justice would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration," said Ashcroft, whose health problems earlier this year resulted in removal of his gall bladder. "I believe that my energies and talents should be directed toward other challenging horizons," he said.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., issued a statement Wednesday calling Ashcroft "one of the most divisive faces in this administration."

"With the end of the era of John Ashcroft, the president now has an opportunity to heal those divisions and make good on his promise of renewed bipartisan cooperation," the former Democratic presidential candidate said.

Evans, Bush's 2000 campaign manager and close friend of more than three decades, said he longed to return to Texas.

"While the promise of your second term shines bright, I have concluded with deep regret that it is time for me to return home," he wrote.

Bush issued statements of praise for both men, and for the policies they advanced.

"John Ashcroft has worked tirelessly to help make our country safer," the president said. "John has served our nation with honor, distinction and integrity."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., was less flattering. "We wish John Ashcroft good health and a good retirement, and we hope the president will choose a less polarizing attorney general as his successor," Schumer said.

Bush's farewell to Evans was effusive and personal. They have been friends for more than three decades, dating back to the oil business in Midland, Texas, where they would attend church together and meet every day for a three-mile jog. Evans was CEO of Tom Brown Inc., an independent energy company, when Bush picked him to head Commerce.

Evans partied with Bush the night the president says he swore off drinking. It was 1986 and both men were celebrating their 40th birthdays. The lingering hangover from that night prompted Bush to abandon the bottle altogether, Bush has said.

Evans has been part of Bush's political career from the start: a fund-raiser for Bush's losing congressional campaign in 1978 and chairman of Bush's successful gubernatorial campaigns in 1994 and 1998. He raised more than $100 million for Bush's 2000 presidential campaign.

"Don Evans is one of my most trusted friends and advisers," Bush said. "Don has worked to advance economic security and prosperity for all Americans. He has worked steadfastly to make sure America continues to be the best place in the world to do business."

Evans has told aides he was ready for a change.

Bush was considering this year's campaign money man, Mercer Reynolds, for Evans' job at Commerce. As national finance chairman for the Bush campaign, Reynolds raised more than $260 million to get him re-elected.

Meanwhile, three high-ranking Bush administration officials said they would like to remain on the job. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Leavitt all said they want to continue.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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