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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle....src=rss/topNews
Mon Nov 29, 2004 06:58 PM ET
By Caren Bohan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Monday chose Carlos Gutierrez, the Cuban-born CEO of Kellogg Co, as his nominee to be commerce secretary, his second selection of a Hispanic for a second-term Cabinet.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gutierrez, 51, will replace Don Evans, one of six Bush Cabinet members to resign after the Republican president's Nov. 2 re-election.
The choice of Gutierrez, along with the pick earlier this month of White House counsel Alberto Gonzales for attorney general, reflected Bush's efforts to reach out to Hispanics. In the Nov. 2 election, some exit polls showed Bush boosting his share of the growing vote to 44 percent from 35 percent in 2000.
On the campaign trail, Bush appealed to Florida's politically potent Cuban-American community by pledging to keep up pressure on communist Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Gutierrez's family fled Cuba in 1960 after his father, Pedro, a politically active pineapple exporter, was arrested by Castro's uniformed soldiers. After his release, the family went to Miami, intending to return to Cuba once the upheaval subsided. The nominee learned English from a Miami bellhop.
CUBA TO MEXICO
When it became clear the Castro government was firmly in power, the family moved to New York and then to Mexico.
Bush hailed Gutierrez as a "great American success story" who rose through the ranks of Kellogg, starting in 1975 as a van driver delivering the company's trademark "Frosted Flakes" cereal. He became chairman of Kellogg's board in April 2000 and has been chief executive since April 1999.
The share price of the cereal giant slipped 3.4 percent on news he was leaving. The company quickly named board member James Jenness as chairman and chief executive.
Gutierrez will join a Bush economic team expected to undergo further change. In addition to Evans, White House National Economic Council Director Stephen Friedman has announced his resignation. Greg Mankiw, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, is expected to leave early next year.
The White House had been looking at a gradual overhaul of the economic team, but The Washington Post reported on Monday that sentiment had shifted toward moving more quickly.
Stephen Moore, head of the Club for Growth, said there was interest in adding high-profile candidates to help sell Bush's proposals for reform of Social Security and the tax code.
"They want an A team," Moore said.
GRAMM A POSSIBILITY
The White House has been wooing MIT professor James Poterba, to replace Mankiw, sources said. It was unclear whether Poterba was interested.
Among the names circulating for jobs such as director of the National Economic Council are former Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, who chaired the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, and FedEx Corp. Chairman Fred Smith.
"They need a Phil Gramm-type person because of the enormous challenges they have embarked upon here," said Daniel Mitchell of the conservative Heritage Foundation. Observers say Gramm would be unlikely to take a post other than treasury secretary.
The Washington Post quoted an unidentified official saying Treasury Secretary John Snow "can stay as long as he wants provided it is not very long." Some Republican allies to the White House said they were struck by the bluntness of the comment and that it might hasten Snow's departure.
"He's got lame duck written all over him," said a Republican congressional aide.
Asked about the Post report, White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to discuss speculation about Snow's future. He said Bush "appreciates the job Secretary Snow is doing."
Should Snow leave some names mentioned for his post include Office of Management and Budget director Joshua Bolten and John Mack, former co-chief executive of Credit Suisse Group.
Gutierrez and his wife, Edilia, live in Battle Creek, Michigan. They have three children. (Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Tim Ahmann) |
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