khaosworks | The bigger douchebag

Bush Plans to Name Gonzales New Attorney General
Wed Nov 10, 2004 11:54 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush planned on Wednesday to nominate White House legal counsel Alberto Gonzales as his new attorney general as part of a reshuffle of Bush's Cabinet for his second term, administration officials said.
The officials, who asked to remain unidentified, said Bush was moving quickly to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Attorney General John Ashcroft, which was announced on Tuesday night.

Gonzales, 49, is a trusted adviser to Bush and a former Texas Supreme Court justice and often considered a possible Bush nominee to the Supreme Court.

Former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson had been considered a candidate for attorney general, but after Bush's re-election last week he made it clear he wanted to remain general counsel at PepsiCo Inc. .

If he is selected, Gonzales' Senate confirmation hearing would likely delve into what role he played in a legal opinion that defined the treatment of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq, which critics said contributed to the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, a charge denied by the administration.

In classified memos that were released in June, administration lawyers argued that Bush, as commander in chief, was not restricted by prohibitions on torture enshrined in U.S. law and international treaties due to the president's "complete authority over the conduct of war," including interrogations.

In other developments in Bush's second-term Cabinet plans, Treasury Secretary John Snow is expected to stay in the job, possibly for another six to 12 months, to spearhead early efforts to overhaul the tax code, an issue he has pushed within the administration.

Congressional sources say Bush economic adviser Stephen Friedman is looking to move to another post within the administration, possibly as trade representative or a top job at Treasury.

Josh Bolten, the White House budget director, is expected to stay in his job and possibly take over for Chief of Staff Andrew Card or Snow if and when they leave. The White House announced on Monday that Card was staying.

Gregory Mankiw, who heads the White House Council of Economic Advisers, is expected to leave the job and return to Harvard University, though he may not do so until sometime next year, congressional sources said.

The congressional sources also said Labor Secretary Elaine Chao was expected to leave, possibly to run the U.N. children's body UNICEF. A leading candidate to replace her is Cari Dominguez, who chairs the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.