Posted on 11/09/2004 5:43:59 PM PST by in2itagin
WASHINGTON - Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans resigned Tuesday, the first members of President Bush’s Cabinet to leave following his re-election.
The resignations were announced by White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who said Bush had accepted the decisions of both secretaries.
“The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved,” Ashcroft wrote in a five-page handwritten letter to Bush, adding that he believed that the Justice Department “would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration” and that “my energies and talents should be directed toward other challenging horizons.”
Bush said in a statement that Ashcroft had “served our nation with honor, distinction and integrity” and had “transformed the [Justice] Department to make combating terrorism the top priority, including making sure our law enforcement officials have the tools they need to disrupt and prevent attacks.”
• Second-term shake-up Nov. 9: NBC’s Tom Brokaw and White House correspondent David Gregory discuss whether Tuesday’s shake-up is just the beginning.
Nightly News
The letter from Ashcroft, 62, who has been a lightning rod for criticism by Democrats and civil liberties activists, was dated Nov. 2, Election Day, but was not released until Tuesday. He said he would stay on until his successor was confirmed.
Aides had described Ashcroft as “exhausted” from leading the Justice Department in fighting the domestic war on terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Stress was a factor in health problems earlier this year that resulted in removal of Ashcroft’s gallbladder.
Yes?
You bad?
LOL!
How do you break news so fast?
Does Bush know yet?
Perhaps with your infinite wisdom slightly dimming, you did not notice the ? behind the "Breaking Story".
Oops, wrong thread, sorry.
Nope. But dont you feel smarter now? :D
Arafat resigns?
Arafat resigned to the fact that he is dead?
Anyone got the memo yet....Ashcroft----Supreme court.
I vaguely recall reading somewhere that it is common protocol for all members of a president's cabinet to resign after an election, even if they'll be immediately re-appointed. Am I remembering wrong?
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