Kempthorne has support in Senate, where he served from 1993-1998 (White House photo by Paul Morse)
Moving swiftly to fill an opening in his Cabinet, President Bush has picked Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R) to be secretary of the Interior. Kempthorne, whose selection was announced on March 16, earlier had served one term in the U.S. Senate, and appears to have strong support from his former fellow lawmakers for the Interior Dept. post. On the other hand, environmental groups are unhappy about Kempthorne's nomination.