Bush Aide Denies Report of Envoy Post for Harris
The incoming Bush administration on Wednesday dismissed reports it planned to appoint Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, one of the most controversial figures of election year 2000, to the post of special envoy to the Americas.
“It’s news to us,” Bush transition spokeswoman Juleanna Glover Weiss said, declining further comment.
A Washington Post report that Bush might tap Harris for the senior foreign policy post, which focuses largely on U.S.-Latin American economic and trade affairs, drew fire on Capitol Hill. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) said it smacked of “cronyism.”
Harris came under fire from Democrats in the wake of the Nov. 7 presidential election, which Democrat Al Gore contested. Gore supporters accused her of imposing unfair time deadlines and standards for vote recounts to ensure a Bush victory.
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