Mineta to quit as Transportation Secretary
WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta,
the only Democrat in President Bush's Cabinet and
one of its three remaining original members, will step down July 7.
Mineta, who oversaw the huge transportation security buildup after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, had been plagued at times by back problems and spent months working from home and the hospital. But he has since recovered.
He is "moving on to pursue other challenges," his spokesman, Robert Johnson, said Friday.
White House press secretary Tony Snow announced the resignation. Asked why Mineta, 74, decided to leave, Snow said: "Because he wanted to."
"He was not being pushed out," Snow said. "As a matter of fact, the president and the vice president and others were happy with him. He put in five and half years that's enough time."
Snow credited Mineta with establishing the Transportation Security Administration, cutting regulations and red tape to liberalize the commercial aviation market, helping shape the legislation that finances the nation's highways, and injecting "sound economic principles" into the nation's passenger rail system.
Snow also paid tribute to Mineta's long history in public life: his service in the Army, his elections to local positions in California, his 20 years representing California in the U.S. House, and his tours in two Cabinet positions, the first as commerce secretary under former President Clinton.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060623/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/mineta_resigns_7
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
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