Bush Cabinet Appointees

Bush's choice for U.S. Attorney General, defeated Missouri Senator and former State Attorney General John Ashcroft, is anti-choice and anti-women's rights. Ashcroft staunchly opposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), filing suit against the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1979. As head of the Justice Department, Ashcroft would be charged with enforcing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which protects reproductive health clinic workers, doctors, and patients from anti-abortion violence.
Learn More | Ashcroft was confirmed 2/1/01

Elaine Chao - Labor Secretary

Chao has a record of conservative public service. She is a fellow at the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation and serves on several boards of directors including Dole Food Co., and the National Association of Security Dealers Inc., parent company of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Chao is also on the National Advisory Board of the anti-feminist Independent Women's Forum. She was Director of the Peace Corps, President and CEO of the United Way, and Vice President of Bank America Capital Markets Group. Like several other Bush appointees, Chao's government career began under Regan in 1983, specializing in transportation and trade issues on the Domestic Policy Council.

Paul O'Neill - Treasury Secretary

Treasury Secretary nominee Paul O'Neill was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Ford administration. O'Neill runs Alcoa, an aluminum manufacturing company. A board member of several conservative think tanks including Rand Corp. and the American Enterprise Institute, O'Neill has nonetheless publicly questioned the Reagan-era "supply-side" economics that underly Bush's economic plans and supported Clinton's efforts to balance the budget.

Donald Rumsfeld - Defense Secretary

Donald H. Rumsfeld has a history of advocating for increased military spending and development. Rumsfeld served as a U.S. Representative from 1963-1969 where he voted against food stamps, Medicare and anti-poverty funds. He was Foreign Secretary of Defense for the Ford Administration and Chief of Staff for Former Presidents Reagan, Nixon and Bush, Sr. In 1996, Rumsfled managed Bob Dole's campaign for President. Rumsfeld was president and CEO of G.D. Searle & Co., a manufacturer of contraceptives, and later, chairman of Gilead Sciences Inc., a biopharmaceutical company.

Ann Veneman - Secretary of Agriculture

Ann Veneman, a lawyer and former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, has been characterized as a centrist. While environmental groups are hopeful about her nomination, organizations representing small farmers are concerned. Two representatives from the United Farm Workers, while not commenting on Veneman in particular, note that "in the past, under Republican administrations - both state and federal - farm workers were never included in the decision-making process," and point out that many issues, including pesticide use, federal subsidies, and support for agribusiness versus support for farm workers, will be on the plate this year.

Mel Martinez - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Mel Martinez is Chairman of the Orange County, Florida government. He was co-chair of the Republican presidential campaign in his state, and was one of Florida's electors. A Cuban American immigrant, Martinez supports English-only education. In October 2000, he spoke at the groundbreaking of a Florida Christian community center that will translate the Christian bible into several languages-- an event sponsored by Bill Bright, President of Campus Crusade for Christ. Martinez used the event as an opportunity to praise "faith-based" programs.

Spencer Abraham - Energy Secretary

Spencer Abraham, U.S. Senator from Michigan from 1994 to 2000, received a sero voting record rating from the League of Conservation Voters and supported an attempt to open the protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas exploration. Abraham was Michican Republican Party Chairman before serving as Vice-President Dan Quayle's deputy chief of staff. As Senator, Abraham had an anti-choice, anti-gay and lesbian record.

Donald Evans - Commerce Secretary

Bush has nominated fellow Texas oil tycoon and longtime friend Donald Evans as Commerce Secretary. Evans is chairman of the University of Texas Board of Regents, and worked on George W. Bush's campaign. He is president and chair of the board of Tom Brown Inc, an oil company -- a cause for concern for environmentalists.

Rod Paige - Secretary of Education

Rod Paige is currently school superintendent in Houston, Texas. He supported a school voucher program for several dozen students from the poorest-performing schools in the district. Prior to his appointment as superintendent, Paige was a member of the Houston school board. Paige coached football in Mississippi and Texas before becoming a teacher and then Dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University.

Colin Powell - Secretary of State

Colin Powell has served under five administrations, most recently as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff under Presidents Bush and Clinton. Unlike many other Bush cabinet nominees, Powell is pro-choice and pro-affirmative action. However, he opposed Clinton's plan to end the ban on gays in the miliary, and was a driving force behind the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Outspoken against "nation-building," Powell has consistently opposed U.S. peacekeeping and aid missions including intervention in Kuwait, the Balkans (including food drops to Bosnian Muslims trapped in Srebrenica), and Somalia.

Norman Mineta - Secretary of Transportation

Norman Mineta was Secretary of Commerce under the Clinton Administration and former Mayor of San Jose. Mineta founded the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and was Vice President of Special Business Initiatives at Lockheed Martin Corporation. Throughout his political career, Mineta has backed bipartisan efforts, but also supported some liberal legislation, including the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which offered an apology and reparations for Japanese Americans sent to internment camps during World War II.

Anthony Principi - Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Anthony Principi was Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs under George Bush, Sr., and has been a lawyer, business executive, and staff aide on Captiol Hill. He is a Vietnam veteran with much experience in the military, both in combat and from the executive point of view. Principi formerly served as cheif operating officer at Lockheed Martin Integrated Solutions.