Presidency of George W. Bush

The Bush administration includes President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Bush's Cabinet, and other select officials and advisors. The Bush administration took office on January 20, 2001, and continues through to the present day. The administration's term is scheduled to end at noon on January 20th, 2009, when the administration of the 44th President, to be elected in November 2008 is to take office.

Cabinet meeting on May 16, 2001. Members are seated according to order of precedence.

There is one non-Republican present in Bush's cabinet: Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, the first Asian American cabinet secretary, who had previously served as Secretary of Commerce under Bill Clinton, is a Democrat. However, on June 23, 2006, Mineta announced that he was resigning, effective July 7. [1]

Bush's cabinet includes figures prominent in past administrations, notably former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had served as United States National Security Advisor under Ronald Reagan, until his resignation and the subsequent appointment of Condoleezza Rice, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H. W. Bush and Clinton, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who had served as White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense under Gerald Ford. Vice President Richard Cheney served as Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush.

Bush places a high value on personal loyalty and, as a result, his administration has high message discipline. He maintains a "hands-off" style of management that he believes prevents him from being tangled by intricacies that hinder sound decision-making. "I'm confident in my management style. I'm a delegator because I trust the people I've asked to join the team. I'm willing to delegate. That makes it easier to be President," he said in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC in December of 2003. However, critics allege that Bush is willing to overlook mistakes [2][3] made by loyal subordinates, and that Bush has surrounded himself with "yes men". [4]

Resigned Cabinet Members

Several members have now resigned from Bush's cabinet, including:

• John Ashcroft - Department of Justice
• Don Evans - Department of Commerce
• Colin Powell - Secretary of State
• Ann Veneman - Department of Agriculture
• Spencer Abraham - Department of Energy
• Rod Paige - Department of Education
• Tom Ridge - Department of Homeland Security
• Tommy Thompson - Health and Human Services
• Norman Mineta - Department of Transportation

Controversy

Bush's presidency has been characterized by a vigorous defense of executive privilege, evidenced in such acts as signing Executive Order 13233, which suspends the release of presidential papers, tight control of Congressional inquiries into White House officers such as in the 9/11 Commission's interviews with Condoleezza Rice, Bush and Richard B. Cheney, and the generally high level of coordination between the White House, Congressional Republicans and Senate Republicans in both of Bush's terms. Many commentators have claimed that deference to executive privilege was one of the principal considerations Bush's administration considered when he proposed his three nominations for the Supreme Court, and appointed John R. Bolton to the United Nations [5] [6].

Cabinet

Office	Name	Term
President	George W. Bush	2001—
Vice President	Richard B. Cheney	2001—
Sec. of State	Colin L. Powell	2001–2005
	Condoleezza Rice	2005—
Sec. of Defense	Donald H. Rumsfeld	2001—
Sec. of the Treasury	Paul H. O'Neill	2001–2003
	John W. Snow	2003—2006
	Henry M. Paulson	2006—
Attorney General	John D. Ashcroft	2001–2005
	Alberto R. Gonzales	2005—
Sec. of the Interior	Gale A. Norton	2001–2006
	Dirk Kempthorne	2006—
Sec. of Agriculture	Ann M. Veneman	2001–2005
	Michael O. Johanns	2005—
Sec. of Commerce	Donald L. Evans	2001–2005
	Carlos M. Gutierrez	2005—
Sec. of Labor	Elaine L. Chao	2001—
Sec. of HHS	Tommy G. Thompson	2001–2005
	Michael O. Leavitt	2005—
Sec. of HUD	Melquiades R. Martinez	2001–2003
	Alphonso R. Jackson	2004—
Sec. of Transportation	Norman Y. Mineta	2001—2006
Sec. of Energy	E. Spencer Abraham	2001–2005
	Samuel W. Bodman	2005—
Sec. of Education	Roderick R. Paige	2001–2005
	Margaret Spellings	2005—
Sec. of Veterans Affairs	Anthony J. Principi	2001–2005
	R. James Nicholson	2005—
Sec. of Homeland Security	Thomas J. Ridge	2003–2005
	Michael Chertoff	2005—

Other advisors and officials

• Director of National Intelligence - John Negroponte (2005-)
• Director of Central Intelligence - George Tenet (2001–2004), John E. McLaughlin (acting, 2004), Porter J. Goss (2004-2006), Michael Hayden (2006-)
• FBI Director - Louis Freeh (2001), Thomas J. Pickard (acting, 2001), Robert S. Mueller (2001–)
• National Security Advisor - Condoleezza Rice (2001–2005), Stephen Hadley (2005—)
• EPA Administrator - Christine Todd Whitman (2001–2003), Michael O. Leavitt (2003–2005), Stephen L. Johnson (2005-)
• UN Ambassador - John Negroponte (2001–2004), John Danforth (2004); John R. Bolton (2005-)
• FCC Chairman - Michael Powell (2001-2005), Kevin Martin (2005-)
• OMB Director - Mitch Daniels (2001–2003), Joshua B. Bolten (2003—2006), Rob Portman (2006-)
• White House Chief of Staff - Andrew Card (2001-2006), Joshua B. Bolten (2006—)
• White House counsel - Alberto R. Gonzales (2001–2005), Harriet Miers (2005-)
• Advisor - Karen Hughes (2001–2002) Appointed in 2005 to rank of Ambassador and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the State Department.
• White House Press Secretary - Ari Fleischer (2001–2003), Scott McClellan (2003-2006), Tony Snow (2006-)
• Personal aide (body man) - Blake Gottesman (2002-)
• Deputy Chiefs of Staff - Joe Hagin (2001-), Joshua B. Bolten (2001-2003), Harriet Miers (2003-2004), Karl Rove (2005-), Joel Kaplan (2006-)

See also

George W. Bush's first term to second term cabinet reorganization