Bush Rejects Specific Tasks for Quayle, Defends Tower

With attention again drawn to two sore spots in his budding Administration, President-elect George Bush, Wednesday ruled out a structured, specific set of assignments for often-beleaguered Vice President-elect Dan Quayle and defended former Sen. John Tower, whose expected nomination as defense secretary has been hung up for weeks.

Bush, speaking with reporters after introducing U.S. Trade Representative Clayton K. Yeutter as his agriculture secretary-designate, said that he would model Quayle’s vice presidency after his own, offering him the role of “a generalist (who) has the confidence of the President.”

The President-elect, who vowed during his campaign to make Quayle his “drug czar,” said for the first time that Quayle will not play a substantial role in the battle against drugs.

Would Flout Legislation

Bush acknowledged that White House lawyers have told him that such a role would flout the requirements of the comprehensive narcotics legislation passed in October, which requires that a full time anti-drug commander be designated. If he gave Quayle that responsibility, “it would be looking like I was circumventing the law, which I am not going to do,” Bush said.

The vice president did, however, say that Quayle will be a “key player” in the National Security Council and at Cabinet meetings, as well as head the space council.

Quayle’s ultimate role in the new Administration--after a tumultuous and much-criticized election campaign--and the continuing dilemma represented by former Texas Sen. Tower have dogged Bush as he has continued to flesh out his Cabinet.

Questions about Tower dominated a morning briefing by Bush transition co-chairman Craig Fuller and repeatedly were raised at Bush’s later press conference.

The President-elect said that he has yet to come to a final decision on his selection of a defense secretary, but he praised Tower. “If I decide to go that route, he would make an outstanding secretary,” Bush declared.

Bush campaign sources have continued to portray Tower as the front-runner for the defense job, despite a flurry of criticism stemming from his relationships with defense contractors and questions about his personal life that have arisen from divorce filings. The chief roadblock to Tower’s nomination, officials have said, is the extended FBI inquiry into his background that is required of all those on the “short list” for a Cabinet post.

Asked about this background check, Bush said that he would be surprised if it contained any information that would derail Tower’s possible nomination.

Tower met Wednesday with transition team counsel C. Boyden Gray to talk about initial FBI reports in a discussion that transition co-chief Fuller called “standard and customary.”

Fuller said that the final FBI report should be completed by the end of the week, after which he and co-chairman Robert Teeter will present Bush with their recommendations for the defense post.

Further boosting Tower’s front-runner status, Fuller confirmed that Tower has presented transition team officials with a list of potential deputies, as each of the announced Cabinet officers has done.

‘Overworked FBI’

Bush and his team also said that other transition appointments are moving forward, as dozens of potential office-holders have had background checks by what one source described as an “overworked” FBI.

Transition officials continued to describe Samuel Skinner, the director of Bush’s Illinois campaign and chief of the Chicago Regional Transportation Authority, as the probable secretary of transportation.

Dr. Louis Sullivan, president of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, is said to be a rising possibility for the role of secretary of health and human services. Bush said that he expects to appoint a black to his Cabinet, and transition officials characterized Sullivan as the most likely to fill that role.

In addition, Fuller described Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), a Bush opponent in this year’s electoral primaries, as “on a short list for one or more positions.”

Bush aides said that the President-elect hopes to complete the selection of his Cabinet by Christmas, though delayed background checks may preclude the announcement of some positions.