President Bush today nominated Jim Nicholson, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who currently serves as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, to be the next secretary of veterans affairs, succeeding Anthony J. Principi, whose resignation was announced last night.
The choice was made public after the White House announced this morning that four Cabinet secretaries would stay on for Bush's second term, bringing to a close a series of resignations that began shortly after Bush won reelection on Nov. 2.
Including Principi, whose resignation letter was dated Nov. 16 but not released for more than three weeks, nine of the 15 secretaries in Bush's Cabinet have announced they would leave once their successors were confirmed by the Senate.
Those remaining in their posts include Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson and Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao, the White House said this morning. Yesterday, the White House announced that Treasury Secretary John W. Snow would stay on, ending speculation that he was on his way out. President Bush also has asked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to remain in the Cabinet, providing continuity at the Pentagon at a time when U.S. forces are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In announcing his choice of Nicholson, 66, to take over the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bush hailed the nominee as "a patriot, a man of deep conviction, who has answered his country's call many times." He said Nicholson rose from modest circumstances in Iowa to become a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy, an Army ranger and paratrooper, a chairman of the Republican National Committee and, for the past three years, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.
As an Army ranger in Vietnam, Nicholson won multiple awards for bravery, including the Bronze Star and the Combat Infantry Badge. After eight years on active duty, Nicholson served 22 more years in the Army Reserves, retiring as a colonel.
"As secretary of veterans affairs, he will lead a department of more than 230,000 employees responsible for ensuring that our nations veterans receive the health care and other benefits our country has promised them," Bush said.
"Jim Nicholson will build on Tony Principi's achievements in continuing to modernize the [Veterans Affairs department], especially the V.A. health care system," Bush said before introducing Nicholson in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
Nicholson said his appointment has prompted him to reflect on his past. "And when I think of growing up dirt poor in a tenant house without plumbing and sometimes without food, I marvel at America," he said. "A boy from Struble, Iowa, may serve in the president's Cabinet; how could this happen? For me, it is because of the opportunities that my country gave me as a cadet at West Point and as a soldier. These experiences have defined my life. . . ."
Principi did not explain why he was leaving the post, saying in his resignation letter only that after four years in the job, "it is now time for me to move on to fresh opportunities and different challenges."
While replacements have been announced for most of those resigning, two Cabinet positions remain to be filled in the second term. Successors have not yet been announced for Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham or Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.
