Bush Names Treasury Official to Head DOE.; Nicholson for VA
In a surprise move, President Bush has picked Deputy Treasury Secretary Samuel Bodman as his nominee to lead the Dept. of Energy. If the Senate confirms Bodman, he would succeed Spencer Abraham as DOE Secretary. Bush also named Jim Nicholson, former Republican National Committee chairman, to be secretary of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
Before moving to Treasury last February, Bodman, whose nomination was announced on Dec. 10, was deputy secretary at the Commerce Dept. Trained as a chemical engineer, Bodman has no evident background in the energy field, but does have extensive academic and corporate management experience. He taught chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later became president of Fidelity Investments and then Chairman and CEO of Cabot Corp., a specialty chemical company.