Bush Keeps CIA’s Webster, Names 4 Other Top Aides : Commerce Dept. Helm to Oilman

President-elect George Bush today retained CIA Director William H. Webster in his post and named Thomas Pickering his ambassador to the United Nations. He also named Texas oilman Robert Mosbacher as secretary of commerce and tapped Carla Hills, the first woman picked for a high-level post in the incoming Administration, to be special trade representative.

In addition, Bush named Michael Boskin, a Stanford University professor of economics and a campaign adviser, to head his Council of Economic Advisers.

(There had been reports of a campaign to dump Webster, 64, chosen by President Reagan to lead the agency after the death of William J. Casey. Some intelligence community veterans had complained that Webster was too cautious about launching clandestine operations and too vigorous in disciplining agency personnel linked to the Iran-Contra scandal.)

‘Open-Ended’ Appointment

But Bush said Webster would stay in his post for an “open-ended” period. There has been frequent speculation that he would stay in his job for only a few months.

Mosbacher, Hills, Boskin and Webster flanked Bush on a stage in the Old Executive Office Building while the President-elect introduced each of them with lavish praise.

Bush, who has vowed repeatedly to name women and blacks to the Cabinet, hinted broadly that the appointment of Hills--who is white--wasn’t the end of that story.

“Stay tuned, we’re only about halfway through this act,” he said as he headed off stage.

In making the moves, Bush left unfilled the top job at the Pentagon. Former Sen. John Tower of Texas has long been rumored to be in line for the job of defense secretary. Incoming White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu said Bush might appoint as many as five or so top defense officials at once.

Ex-Housing Secretary

Hills, 54, is no stranger to official Washington. A lawyer, she served as secretary of housing and urban development during the Ford Administration in the mid-1970s.

Bush said Hills was for “free trade and fair trade.”

Bush teased Mosbacher, 61, as a friend of more years than he would like to admit--more than three decades. The Texas oilman was a key fund-raiser in Bush’s winning presidential campaign.

Fielding questions after making his announcements, Bush said neither Pickering nor Webster would hold Cabinet rank.

He said both men would be invited to Cabinet meetings as needed, but said there was no point in having the U.N. ambassador sitting in for Cabinet discussions of agriculture policy--something Bush recalled doing while serving at the United Nations in the 1970s.

Earlier today, Bush told former Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole, thought to be in the running for the U.N. post, that he would like her to participate in the new Administration but no job commitments were made, an aide said.

‘Flexible Freeze’

In tapping Boskin, Bush named a man who helped design the “flexible freeze” that serves as the cornerstone of his deficit-cutting proposals. Boskin also was involved in Bush’s campaign proposal to cut the capital gains tax.

Mosbacher and Hills will oversee the nation’s trade policy. The office of U.S. trade representative negotiates trade agreements and the secretary of commerce enforces them and seeks to expand markets for U.S. goods.

Mosbacher will take over the commerce job from former steel executive C. William Verity, who has held the job for only a year. Reagan appointed Verity after the death of Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige in a horseback riding accident.