Bush Rules Out Congressmen in His Cabinet

President-elect George Bush said Tuesday that he would appoint no House or Senate Republicans to top jobs in his Administration--a directive that will mean Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), the fiery Orange County conservative who had been seeking a prestigious post, will focus his energies on Congress.

Bush is expected to fill several more Cabinet posts later this week, with three departments--Labor, Agriculture and Transportation--”loaded and ready to fire,” as one senior aide put it Tuesday.

At Agriculture, Bush has offered the top job to U.S. Trade Representative Clayton K. Yeutter, who is deciding whether to take it or return to the private sector. Constance Horner, head of the federal Office of Personnel Management, remains the leading candidate for labor secretary, and Chicago Re gional Transportation Authority chief Samuel K. Skinner leads the field for the transportation job.

Yeutter is particularly attractive to Bush as agriculture secretary because, as the chief U.S. trade negotiator, he has spent much of his time trying to convince other nations to reduce or eliminate subsidies for agricultural products. The subsidy issue is expected to continue as one of the major problems facing U.S. agriculture policy in the new Administration.

Yeutter, however, has told friends that he would like to leave public service for the private sector and has been discussing joining the investment firm of Drexel Burnham Lambert, a far more lucrative post than that of Cabinet secretary.

By contrast, the logjam over defense secretary appeared no closer to being broken. Asked Tuesday about the prospects for an announcement about former Texas Sen. John Tower, by all accounts the chief candidate for the job, Bush said only that “the process is still going forward.”

Other than that comment, Bush remained noncommittal Tuesday on the timing of future announcements, turning aside questions on the subject when he spoke with reporters after meetings with Carlos Andres Perez, president-elect of Venezuela, and Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Fears Depleting Strength

Bush told Dornan and other House Republicans who had been active in his campaign that he would not appoint them to high-level jobs because he does not want to deplete the party’s strength in Congress, a transition spokesman said Tuesday.

“Several of the vice president’s many friends in Congress have indicated a willingness to serve in his Administration,” transition Press Secretary Sheila Tate said. “However, their appointment would mean the loss of strong supporters on the Hill whose help the President-elect needs in the months ahead.”

Bush’s surprise announcement not to put members of Congress in his Cabinet won praise from several GOP congressmen, including Dornan, who had been reported as one of the leading congressional contenders for an appointment. The decision, said Dornan, makes good sense because Republicans, already in the minority in the House, cannot afford to risk losing any seats. He added that he would be “proud and happy” to remain in Congress and work hard for the new President’s legislative agenda.

Says Bush Erred

At least one congressman, however, suggested that Bush had erred. “My own personal feeling was that a former member of Congress could be very helpful to a President in lobbying with the members that they have served with,” said Rep. Guy V. Molinari (R-N.Y.), who had been hoping for the Transportation Department job.

In fact, Bush may have had other motives at least partly in mind, a senior aide said. Despite the professed worry about weakening the party in the House, all but one of the GOP congressmen whose names have been mentioned for Cabinet slots are from “safe” Republican districts that could be expected to send up Republican replacements.

What may have been important is that all the GOP congressmen are white and, by definition, Washington insiders. His new blanket decision provides Bush a face-saving way of bypassing them in favor of honoring his pledge to name members of minority groups and people from outside Washington to the Cabinet, the aide acknowledged.

Bush discussed the subject of black appointees when he met Tuesday afternoon with King, one of a series of meetings he has been having with black leaders.

“We don’t disagree on the goals,” King told reporters after the meeting, adding that she plans to “do all I can to help George Bush” fulfill her late husband’s dream of eliminating the “three evils of racism, poverty and war.” While she and Bush talked about naming a black Cabinet member, they did not discuss any names, King said.

One leading black contender for a Cabinet post is Dr. Louis Sullivan, president of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. He is being actively pushed as a possible secretary of health and human services.

In addition to Dornan and Molinari, members of Congress who had been considered possible Cabinet selections included Reps. John Paul Hammerschmidt of Arkansas, widely touted as a candidate for secretary of the new Department of Veteran Affairs; Lynn Martin of Illinois, Bill Gradison of Ohio, Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and E. Thomas Coleman of Missouri.

Dornan, 55, stressed that Bush’s action should not be seen as a slap in the face to Republican conservatives, who worked hard for his election and expect to be represented in the new Administration.

‘Point Man for the President’

“As for me, I will concentrate on being a point man for the President in Congress, on issues like arms control, narcotics policies, AIDS and the deficit.”

Dornan also said that he expects to rise in the ranks. He expressed confidence that he will be appointed to a seat on the powerful House Armed Services Committee next month, and recently was elected chairman of the influential Republican Study Conference, a policy arm of House conservatives.

These new leadership responsibilities suggest that Dornan might be evolving into less of an ideological firebrand, a role he previously has played with gusto. However, in a Tuesday interview, he served warning that his credentials as one of Congress’ most outspoken conservatives are still intact.

Asked about the AIDS policies he would promote as chairman of the Republican Study Conference, for example, Dornan said: “Just like we have to do something on the demand side of narcotics, we have to do something on the demand side of AIDS. We have to stop glorifying homosexuality as a life style. Unsanitary, dirty sex and unsanitary, dirty needles have created the greatest health crisis of our time.”

Dornan was one of the first conservatives to endorse Bush’s presidential candidacy, campaigning for him as early as 1985. Eventually, Dornan stumped for Bush in 34 states.

“There were few people who worked as hard for Bush as Bob did,” said a transition source. “And in this business, that’s not forgotten. He was very loyal to the vice president.”

After the election, Dornan made no secret of his ambitions. Unlike most aspirants for presidential appointments, he spoke frankly to the news media.

“The only job I want is drug czar,” he said in one interview, referring to the new post of national drug policy director created by Congress. “My main shot is the man (Bush) himself. I’m so much closer to him than I ever got to Reagan.”

At one point, Dornan even promoted his candidacy over another rumored--although unlikely--contender for drug czar, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates. The chief, he said, “is a friend, a quality person, but I don’t see it as a law enforcement job.”

Yet even before Bush made his decision to exclude Republican members of Congress from high-level appointments, Dornan said he concluded that being drug czar might not be such a good idea. He noted that his wife, Sallie, had opposed the move, calling the post “a magnificent opportunity to fail miserably.”

“I’ve never been comfortable with the word ‘czar,’ ” Dornan added. “It’s derived from the word ‘Caesar,’ and the derivations are ‘czar,’ ‘kaiser’ and ‘shah.’ Caesar was stabbed by a couple of dozen senators. The kaiser and Czar Nicholas didn’t fare too well, and the shah was kicked around from country to country.”

Now that a presidential appointment has been ruled out, Dornan said he asked Bush for his support in gaining a seat on the House Armed Services Committee. During a Monday night conversation with Bush, he said, he asked the President-elect to put in a good word for him with Rep. Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.), the House minority leader. Republicans are expected to decide next month which new members will be appointed to the committee.

“He (Bush) said he would absolutely help. . . . He said, ‘I want you to be one of my point speakers,’ ” Dornan said.