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November 29, 2000
AUSTIN, Texas-- (UNB/AP) - George W. Bush, in a bold gesture to assert authority, is moving key operatives to Washington and seeking private financing for a presidential transition. In the face of Democratic court challenges to the Florida presidential balloting, the Texas governor was pressing ahead with plans to form a new government and to fill thousands of top positions now held by Democrats. We can move fairly rapidly in a couple of areas, but he has to decide the timing," Bush's vice presidential running mate, Dick Cheney, said Tuesday. He said there was a "good possibility" that a Bush Cabinet would include some Democrats. "The governor has given me instructions to look in those areas," said Cheney, who is overseeing transition planning. "We clearly will." Cheney said Bush was reaching out to people with experience, including some from the Bush and Reagan administrations, "but we're also going to want new talent. We're going to want to emphasize diversity. We're going to want a broad Cabinet." Bush was to designate retired Gen. Colin Powell as secretary of state and Stanford University scholar Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser. He also was expected to give economist Lawrence Lindsey a top economic job. Bush settled on these selections before the election and has not changed his mind, aides said. However, there remained some questions about scheduling, with Powell hoping to wait until some of the legal fireworks in Florida have subsided, the aides said. Associates close to Bush said the list of prominent Republicans under consideration for top jobs included Montana Gov. Marc Racicot and Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith. Racicot, who has emerged as a top advocate in the Florida recount fight, has been mentioned as a possibility for Interior secretary or attorney general. Goldsmith's name has been circulated as a potential housing secretary. Bush hopes to appoint at least one Democrat to a high-profile job, his associates said. Former Sen. Sam Nunn, a Georgia Democrat, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for defense secretary and Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt of North Carolina could find himself on a list of potential education secretaries, aides said. Rebuffed by the Clinton administration in a bid for office space and dlrs 5.3 million in federal funds, a defiant Bush team announced Monday it would seek contributions of up to dlrs 5,000 each from individuals to help pay for a transition office in the nation's capital. He also was moving critical elements of his operation from Austin to Washington to establish a presence near the center of federal government.Cheney himself will be based in Washington. He announced that Clay Johnson, Bush's gubernatorial chief of staff, would serve as executive director of the prospective transition. Cheney also announced that Ari Fleischer, a senior campaign spokesman, would serve as transition spokesman.Both Johnson and Fleischer will move from Austin to Washington. The actions of the Bush camp contrasted sharply with assertions by Democrat Al Gore that the election won't be over until the courts say it's over. His camp is seeking legal action to reopen Florida's vote recount. "Let the people have their say, and let us listen," Gore said Monday night in a nationally televised address to the nation. That address was closely monitored in Austin - Bush watching from the Texas governor's mansion and the campaign staff assembled before television sets at campaign headquarters. Fleischer said Gore's address offered "nothing new." Gore "was just unfortunately not giving Americans the full picture of what took place," Fleischer said. "He did not advance his case." A day after declaring himself the winner of the presidential election based on his certified - but legally challenged - victory in Florida, Bush huddled on Monday with Andrew Card, his choice for White House chief of staff, and got down to transition business. The General Services Administration in Washington is refusing to open a transition office or release dlrs 5.3 million for the next president-elect until the contest is settled. "This is regrettable, because we believe the government has an obligation to honor the certified results of the election. Despite the decision, we feel it is our obligation to the American people to honor their votes by moving forward and assembling the administration that they've chosen in this election," Cheney said. "Therefore, at the direction of Governor Bush, we will proceed, drawing on other sources," he said. There are some 3,000 top positions to be filled by the new president - nearly all of them now held by Democrats.
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