Bush Picks Powell for Secretary of State

The appointment would be Bush's first since his Democrat opponent, Vice President Al Gore, conceded.

Powell is the widely admired former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and national security adviser who served under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Powell, with Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, oversaw the Gulf War when Cheney was defense secretary.

Bush did not confirm the appointment Friday when he met with reporters in Austin, but he made no effort to deny it. "I'm looking forward to making the announcement tomorrow," he said.

Bush, who had lunch Friday with Democrat Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana, said afterward that Breaux would remain in the Senate rather than join the new Cabinet.

The Powell announcement begins a carefully choreographed series of events that were to culminate in Washington Monday and Tuesday, when Bush visits the capital to begin taking the reins of power.

"I can't tell you how excited I am about getting to Washington," Bush said, "about how enthused I am about the opportunities not only to work with members of the Senate and House, but to work with other world leaders to make the world more peaceful.

"I am so grateful and humbled by the opportunity."

Bush met with Breaux amid widespread speculation that he would offer him a Cabinet job, possibly energy secretary. But Breaux, a centrist Democrat who is expected to be key in any bipartisan effort to move legislation through the 107th Congress when it meets in January, said he preferred to stay put.

The Senate is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, with Cheney available to break ties. The Republicans have a narrow 10-vote lead in the House.

"One of the things the senator made clear is he wants to stay in the Senate and work to get something done," Bush said. "He views this as a unique opportunity in American history for Republicans and Democrats."

Bush also continued to push for a $1.3 trillion tax cut in light of signs that the economy might be slowing. The cut was a centerpiece of his campaign, but U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was quoted Friday as saying he did not favor the cut, preferring smaller, more targeted tax breaks.

Asked about Hastert's comments in the New York Times, the president-elect said, "What I found to be promising is that the speaker was recognizing that we need we need some tax relief."

He said he hadn't talked to Hastert yet, but "I have made it clear to the speaker once before that I campaigned on a package that I thought was fair, fiscally sound and responsible, and I will continue. I strongly believe that."

"I look forward to going to Washington to make the case that the plan that the people heard in America is the plan that I hope to get passed. At any rate I'm optimistic to know that tax relief discussion is taking place."

Bush said a tax cut was especially urgent because of growing concerns that the economy is slowing and could be headed into recession.

"I think people are concerned about the economy," Bush said. "There's concern about some of the manufacturing pace. There's concern expressed about the automobile sector. All of us ought to be concerned about high energy prices – that's one of the reasons I feel so strongly about the need to reduce the marginal rates in our tax code."

Also Friday, Cheney returned to the temporary transition offices in McLean, Va. On Thursday, the General Services Administration presented Cheney with the smart card that opens the official transition office near the White House, and released $5.7 million in transition funds. Cheney was expected to continue working out of the Virginia office, which is near his home.

The transition team has been deluged with 19,000 resumes for the fewer than 6,000 presidentially appointed positions, about 1,200 of which will require congressional approval.

Bush and Cheney are in overdrive in their effort to staff the White House and executive agencies after a delay caused by the five-week post-election refusal of Gore to concede. Gore finally gave up Wednesday night after a Supreme Court ruling the day before blocked manual recounts in Florida, cutting off any chance of reversing Bush's Electoral College majority.

The electors are to meet Monday in their state capitals to cast their votes, which are scheduled to be counted in a joint session of Congress Jan. 6.

Bush was expected in Washington Monday and Tuesday, when he will visit Capitol Hill and meet with President Clinton and Gore.