Two administration officials said that
Gonzales, a longtime Bush friend who served with him in Texas, was the likely
successor to Ashcroft and that the president could act as early as Wednesday.
Gonzales would be the first Hispanic attorney general.
Another leading candidate was Bush's 2004 campaign chairman,
former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot.
Shifting Gonzales to Justice would leave a vacancy in the
White House counsel's office. Bush advisers said two people would be naturals
for the job. One is White House staff secretary Brett Kavanaugh, a lawyer who
has been waiting nearly 16 months for confirmation on the influential U.S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He was also a top lawyer in two cases
that dogged the Clinton White House. As associate independent counsel under
Kenneth Starr, he worked on both the long-running Whitewater case and the 1998
Clinton impeachment case.
Harriet Miers, a deputy chief of staff who was once Bush's
personal lawyer, would be another candidate, one Bush adviser said.
Ashcroft announced his resignation on Tuesday, along with
Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a Texas friend of the president's.
After a National Security Council meeting, Bush was sitting
down Wednesday with Secretary of State Colin Powell, another figure being closely watched. Powell has been largely
noncommital when asked about his plans.
The gospel-singing son of a minister, Ashcroft is a fierce
conservative who doesn't drink, smoke or dance. His detractors said he gave
religion too prominent a role at the Justice Department
— including optional prayer meetings with staff before each work day.
He has also been a willing lightning rod for critics who
said his policies for thwarting terrorists infringed on the rights of innocent
people.
Ashcroft championed many of the most controversial
government actions following the Sept. 11 attacks, most notably the USA Patriot
Act. It bolstered FBI surveillance powers, increased use
of material witness warrants to hold suspects incommunicado for months and
allowed secret proceedings in terrorist-related immigration cases. When there
was a break in a terror case, he was the man at the lectern soberly informing
the American people.
"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from
crime and terror has been achieved," Ashcroft said in his handwritten
resignation letter to the president, dated Nov. 2 — Election Day. White House
spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush had received the letter that same day,
before the results of the election were known.
"I believe that the Department of Justice would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration," said
Ashcroft, whose health problems earlier this year resulted in removal of his
gall bladder.
Sen. John Kerry, issued a
statement Wednesday calling Ashcroft "one of the most divisive faces in this
administration."
"With the end of the era of John Ashcroft, the president now
has an opportunity to heal those divisions and make good on his promise of
renewed bipartisan cooperation," the former Democratic presidential candidate
said.
Evans, Bush's 2000 campaign manager and close friend of more
than three decades, said he longed to return to Texas.
Bush said in a statement, "John Ashcroft has worked
tirelessly to help make our country safer. John has served our nation with
honor, distinction and integrity."
His farewell to Evans was effusive and personal. They have
been friends for more than three decades, dating back to the oil business in
Midland, Texas, where they would attend church together and meet every day for a
three-mile jog.
"Don Evans is one of my most trusted friends and advisers,"
Bush said. "Don has worked to advance economic security and prosperity for all
Americans. He has worked steadfastly to make sure America continues to be the
best place in the world to do business."
Bush was considering this year's campaign money man, Mercer
Reynolds, for Evans' job at Commerce. As national finance chairman for the Bush
campaign, Reynolds raised more than $260 million to get him
re-elected.
