Naming of Choice to Direct Social Security Expected

Gwendolyn King, a former aide to Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh, will soon be nominated by the White House as head of the Social Security Administration, a source said Thursday.

A news release announcing the nomination has been sent by the White House to Paris, where President Bush flew Thursday for a summit meeting, according to a source familiar with the release.

If nominated by Bush and confirmed by the Senate, King would take over an agency that has been criticized by organized labor and by congressional Democrats for cutting back from 80,000 to 65,000 employees during the Ronald Reagan Administration.