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.

Bush's cabinet includes figures that were prominent in past administrations, notably former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had served as United States National Security Advisor under Ronald Reagan. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had served as White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense under Gerald Ford; Rumsfeld's successor, Robert Gates, served as Director of Central Intelligence under George H.W. Bush. 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. Critics allege, however, that Bush is willing to overlook mistakes made by loyal subordinates, and that Bush has surrounded himself with "yes men".

There has been only 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. Mineta resigned from Bush's cabinet on July 7, 2006 to pursue "other challenges". Mary Peters, a Republican, was nominated and confirmed to succeed him as Transportation Secretary.

Cabinet

President Bush meeting with his Cabinet at the White House.

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	2001–2006
	Robert M. Gates	2006—
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
	Mary Peters	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 (2005–2007), John Michael McConnell (2007-)
• Director of Central Intelligence - George Tenet (2001–2004), John E. McLaughlin (acting, 2004), Porter J. Goss (2004-2006), General 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 (2005-2006)
• 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-)

Supreme Court nominations and appointments

Bush nominated the following people to the Supreme Court of the United States:

• John Roberts – 2005, was first nominated for Associate Justice replacing Sandra Day O'Connor; after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Bush nominated him for the position of Chief Justice. Confirmed: 78-22
• Harriet Miers – 2005, was nominated upon the elevation of John Roberts as the Chief Justice. Her nomination was later withdrawn.
• Samuel Alito – 2005, nominated upon the withdrawal of Harriet Miers. Confirmed: 58-42

Federal Reserve appointment

On October 24, 2005, Bush nominated Ben Bernanke to succeed Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Senate Banking Committee recommended Bernanke's confirmation by a 13-1 voice vote on November 16, 2005. With the full Senate's approval on January 31, 2006 by another voice vote, Bernanke was sworn in on February 1, 2006.

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.

Third Way today issued a new report on September 5 2006 analyzing the Bush administration’s record on national security. The report was released at a press conference in the Capitol with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, retired General Wesley Clark, Assistant Minority Leader Dick Durbin, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Carl Levin, and founding Third Way Co-Chair Senator Thomas Carper. In The Neo Con: The Bush Defense Record by the Numbers, Third Way analyzed available data across seven key national security indicators: Iraq, terrorism (broadly defined), Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, the condition of the American military, and China. The report finds that the numbers lead to an indisputable conclusion that incompetence and a failed strategy have "helped lead us to this dangerous situation".

See also

• George W. Bush's first term to second term cabinet reorganization
• Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration