Loss of Clark Cuts Influence of Ideologues

William P. Clark’s decision to resign as secretary of the Interior and return to California removes a major player from the White House power game and indirectly increases the pressure on President Reagan to retain U.N. Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick as a top official in his Administration.

Moreover, some White House officials said Wednesday, Reagan now will be under increasing pressure to appoint a conservative to replace Edwin Meese III when he leaves his post as presidential counselor to succeed William French Smith as attorney general.

Confidant for Two Decades

Clark’s departure from Washington, coupled with Meese’s impending shift to the Justice Department after his expected confirmation as attorney general by the Senate, will sharply diminish the number of conservative ideologues in the circle of advisers closest to the President. Meese is the last such prominent conservative in the ranks of senior White House officials. And Clark’s decision will mean the loss of another staunch conservative who has been a confidant and trouble-shooter during almost two decades of Reagan’s political life.

The sudden resignation of Clark, who told Reagan of his decision on New Year’s Eve, left some conservatives complaining about what they see as a steady erosion of power and influence for champions of their ideological views and a corresponding gain by more pragmatic advisers such as White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III.

“I’m sorry to see Bill go,” one White House adviser said of Clark. “But he never did have a stomach for Washington politics. In the end, he got snookered by the political pragmatists. Now, it’s all their ballgame.”

Clark, in an interview, denied that the in-fighting that has marked the continuing power struggle inside the Administration was a factor in his resignation.

“That has not been part of my consideration to return home, though some of it has been disappointing to many of us in the Administration,” he said.

Although personal rivalries and animosities create friction in all administrations, the struggle between the so-called pragmatists and the ideological conservatives has magnified such problems for Reagan.

In broad terms, the ideological conservatives want the President to attach top priority to seeking far-reaching changes in economic, foreign and social policy--changes that could shape the course of the nation long after Reagan has left the scene.

The pragmatists, although in most cases no less conservative, argue that the President must accommodate immediate political realities, husband his capital and avoid pushing too hard on issues that could jeopardize the broad base of Reagan’s popularity.

‘Debilitating’ Struggle

Clark said that he was leaving because he considered his task at Interior completed and needed to get back to California to take care of his 880-acre ranch, his only major financial asset. Other Administration officials said they were convinced that that was his major reason for resigning.

However, Clark has emphasized in the past that he considered the continuing power struggle within the Administration to be “debilitating and not in the national interest.” And, in that struggle, he and Meese frequently have been aligned against Baker and Michael K. Deaver, deputy chief of staff.

Clark, a strong supporter of Kirkpatrick, has been interested in ensuring that she retains a top spot in the Administration after she steps down as U.N. ambassador about March 1. But finding her a suitable post has proved to be a major headache for Reagan.

Some conservatives have urged Reagan to name her to replace Meese as presidential counselor, but Baker and Deaver, as well as national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane and Secretary of State George P. Shultz, are opposed to that move.

Wants to Keep Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick, a special favorite of conservatives, has said that she will return to her job as a professor at Georgetown University unless she is offered a major post in the Administration. She has made clear that she would prefer to remain in the Administration, and Reagan has told his closest aides that he wants to keep her if he can find a suitable position.

Reagan met with Kirkpatrick at the White House last month to discuss her future, and they are scheduled to meet again after the inauguration.

“I think the President will find something to entice her to stay on,” said one Reagan adviser, “but it beats the hell out of me what it’ll be. I keep hearing she might wind up in the Meese office, but that’s from people who don’t know what an awkward situation that would be. She would have no portfolio of responsibilities, and her expertise is in foreign policy. McFarlane and Shultz would be uncomfortable with her around to nit-pick their carrying out of their jobs.”