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Former House lawmaker tapped to succeed Daley at Commerce

June 29, 2000
Web posted at: 1:14 p.m. EDT (1714 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton on Thursday nominated Norman Mineta -- a former California congressman who spent part of his boyhood in a World War II Japanese-American internment camp -- to be his new Secretary of Commerce.

If confirmed, he would become the first Asian-American to serve in a Cabinet post, White House officials said.

Clinton and Mineta
President Clinton nominated former congressman Norman Mineta to be his new Secretary of Commerce.  

Mineta, 68, a Democrat who left his House seat in California's 15th Congressional District in 1995 to take a senior position with defense contractor Lockheed Martin after his party lost its majority, will replace William Daley, who resigned to take charge of Vice President Al Gore's campaign for president. Daley is expected to make the transition to the Gore campaign by July 15.

"Politics and public service have a way of calling the best back. Norm is one of the best," Clinton said Thursday in an Oval Office appearance with Mineta to announce the nomination. "I hope he will be swiftly heard and confirmed by the United States Senate."

"There could be no more important task than to further advance the policies that have brought us to these triumphs of economic performance and prosperity," Mineta said. "Thank you very, very much for the confidence you have exhibited by nominating me."

Mineta as a boy was taken with his family to a World War II internment camp for Japanese-Americans in Wyoming; he later worked in Congress with then-Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyoming., on legislation granting redress to Japanese-Americans.

Norman Mineta
Mineta, 68, a Democrat, served as chairman of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee before resigning from Congress in October 1995.  

Daley had recommended that his deputy, Robert Mallett, be tapped for Commerce Secretary for the remainder of the president's term. But White House officials said they wanted a higher-profile candidate who they believed would win relatively swift and smooth confirmation from the Republican-controlled Senate.

Daley served as Clinton's point man in pushing for passage of legislation granting China permanent normal trade relations with the United States. The legislation cleared the House and is now awaiting action in the Senate.

Senior White House officials were calling other potential candidates Thursday morning to inform them of the President's decision to nominate Mineta; key members of Congress also were being called.

Mineta resigned from Congress in October 1995 -- 10 months after Republicans took control of the House, ending 40 years of Democratic majorities. Prior to his departure, he served as the chairman of the powerful House Public Works and Transportation Committee, which authorizes funding for highway and water programs.


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Thursday, June 29, 2000


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