Bush making Colin Powell first Cabinet choice

AUSTIN, Texas - President-elect Bush is naming retired Gen. Colin Powell as his first Cabinet choice, selecting the popular hero of the Persian Gulf War as his secretary of state.

Bush was to formally make the announcement Saturday in Crawford, Texas, near his 1,600-acre ranch, about a two-hour drive north of here.

It comes as Bush begins the process of naming his Cabinet and top White House staff members.

''I think America will be pleased'' with his selection, Bush said Friday. Bush's selection of Powell, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the administration of Bush's father, had been long expected.

Bush will name Stanford University administrator Condoleezza Rice as his national security adviser Sunday, along with other top White House appointments, GOP officials said. Rice also served under former President Bush, as a Russia specialist on the National Security Council staff.

But even as Bush sought to project an image of unity and harmony, assembling a Cabinet was proving difficult.

The job of the third member of the national security triad - defense secretary - was a matter of contention within the Bush camp, pitting Powell against Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, said people close to the process, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Powell was pushing for the selection of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge as defense secretary, while Cheney, a former defense secretary, wants the job to go to former Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., the sources said.

Ridge, who as an Army enlisted man won the Bronze Star for combat service in the Vietnam War, is Powell's favorite, said the sources.

However, they said, Coats, a former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is popular with Senate leaders, is being pushed by Cheney.

One individual who won't be in Bush's Cabinet: moderate Democratic Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana. Reaching across party lines, Bush invited Breaux to Austin for lunch on Friday. He had been widely rumored as a possible Cabinet choice, perhaps energy secretary.

Bush would not say if he had made a specific job offer to Breaux, but he told reporters the Democrat did not want to leave the Senate, which will be evenly split between the parties beginning in January. ''He wants to stay in the Senate and to work to get something done,'' Bush said.

Powell, 63, was traveling to Texas from Washington with Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, aides to the two men said.

Powell is a popular figure and many Republicans had wanted him to run for the White House. He is also arguably the one Bush nomination most palatable to Democrats. Those in both parties have predicted his confirmation by the Senate would be fast and overwhelming.

Bush, who takes office Jan. 20, said he hoped to complete his Cabinet selections ''over the course of the next couple of weeks.'' He said he had ''assembled a White House staff that is a group of extraordinary Americans who have agreed to serve the country.''

Aides said Bush could name the team on Sunday.

Among them will be a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, Al Gonzales, as White House counsel, officials close to the process said.

Gonzales, 45, was the second Hispanic to serve on the court. Before Bush appointed him to the bench, he served as Texas secretary of state and as the governor's staff general counsel.

Andrew Card, a former U.S. transportation secretary, has already been announced as Bush's chief of staff.

The rest of the White House staff was expected to include Karen Hughes as a senior adviser and communications director, Josh Bolton as policy director and Ari Fleischer as chief spokesman. Each worked on the election campaign.

The list also may include Lawrence Lindsey as Bush's chief economic adviser, although some question about his exact title remained. Lindsey was out of the country on vacation and the announcement of his post could come later.

Bush has decided to name his campaign chairman, Don Evans, as commerce secretary, the sources said. He also was leaning toward Robert Zoellick, a State Department official during his father's administration, as U.S. trade representative.