Lone Democrat in Bush Cabinet Is Departing
Mineta to Pursue Uncited 'Challenges'

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 24, 2006

Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, who oversaw the tightening of airport security after the 2001 terrorist attacks and is the lone Democrat in President Bush's Cabinet, will step down early next month, the White House announced yesterday.

In a letter to President Bush, Mineta said that the decision to resign was a difficult one but that it is "time for me to move on to other challenges."

Mineta, 74, has battled serious back problems in recent years and was forced to telecommute from his hospital bed for five months after undergoing back surgery in late 2002. Associates said doctors worried that Mineta might never walk again.

Robert Johnson, Mineta's spokesman, said health problems did not drive Mineta from the job. The secretary has been routinely working 18-hour days and often goes sailing in a boat he docks behind his Annapolis house, Johnson said.

"He's in excellent condition," Johnson said, adding that Mineta has not decided what to do next. "He wants to pursue other challenges and believes this is a good time to do that."

Mineta is scheduled to leave the 60,000-person department on July 7.

No successor has been named. Deputy Secretary Maria Cino will take over the department until a new secretary is confirmed by the Senate.

President Bush's press secretary, Tony Snow, announced Mineta's resignation at a morning briefing. He told reporters that Mineta was "not being pushed out."

"As a matter of fact, the president and vice president and others were happy with him," Snow said. "He put in 5 1/2 years, and that's enough time."

In a statement, Bush touted Mineta's tenure and touched on the secretary's compelling personal history.

Mineta and his family were interred with other Japanese Americans during World War II. He served in the Army, as mayor of San Jose and in the House, where he represented his California congressional district for two decades.

"Norm's life is a story of determination, courage and service," Bush said.

Mineta was the only Democrat tapped by Bush to join his Cabinet after the 2000 presidential election and is one of three original secretaries remaining. He served as commerce secretary under President Bill Clinton.

Mineta, who was known as a transportation policy wonk during his tenure in Congress, is credited with helping to create the Transportation Security Administration after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The task required 100-hour workweeks to prepare new security measures.

He oversaw the hiring and training of thousands of luggage inspectors and air marshals and the purchase of millions of dollars in high-tech screening equipment.

Michael P. Jackson, deputy secretary of homeland security, said in an interview that Mineta worked hard to create security systems that would mesh with the needs of airlines and passengers.

"He was a genuine transportation expert in charge of a department at a time when vital changes were needed," said Jackson, who had served as Mineta's No. 2 official at the Transportation Department.

"His calm hands at the reins after 9/11 is one of his principal legacies," Jackson added. "He just had the credibility to lead a team of people to do meaningful work at every nook and cranny in the Department of Transportation."

Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), the senior Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said Mineta's work after Sept. 11 was "his most distinguished accomplishment."

"He understood that without a crash program people weren't going to get back on airplanes," Oberstar said. "He set it up and put it into shape. . . . His motto was: world-class security with world class service."

Administration officials said Mineta helped win passage of a $286 billion highway spending bill last year. Although the legislation has been criticized for including thousands of pet projects for individual lawmakers, administration officials hailed it as a critical step in improving roadways and easing congestion.

Some Democrats viewed Mineta's appointment in 2001 as a political fig leaf offered by Republicans in the wake of the bruising and divisive presidential contest.

Worried he might anger members of his own party by taking the job, Mineta called about 100 Democratic leaders and friends, including Clinton, to get their approval, he has said.

Since taking the job, Mineta has received generally supportive reviews from members of Congress.

But some Democrats feel that Mineta's department has not been aggressive enough in recent years in addressing serious problems facing the rail and aviation industries. They said the department did not do enough to help commercial air carriers, which have endured hard economic times. Some said that Mineta should have worked harder to fix major problems at Amtrak. Instead, they said, he strongly backed the administration's efforts to win steep spending cuts at the troubled rail line.

"Regrettably, the Department of Transportation has been a caretaker operation for some time," said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.). "We have serious financing problems for Amtrak, the national rail passenger system. There are very serious problems with the airline industry. The department has been more of a spectator than a participant in the solutions."

Staff writers Keith L. Alexander and Sara Kehaulani Goo contributed to this report.