4 Clinton Cabinet Members To Resign

Christopher, Perry, Kantor and O'Leary

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Nov. 6) -- Several of President Clinton's Cabinet members have said they will not return for his second term, CNN learned Wednesday. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Defense Secretary William Perry and Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor informed the president of their decisions.

Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary is expected to announce her plans to resign soon, perhaps as early as this afternoon, sources said.

Sources told CNN that Christopher's decision was finalized during a meeting with the president in Little Rock on election night. He will reportedly announce his resignation within the next three to four days, to take effect in January.

Christopher's decision to leave Clinton's Cabinet was expected. Aides to the man who spearheaded the Bosnian peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, last year have privately said for some time that the secretary would not return for a second term.

U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell are considered the leading candidates to succeed him.

Insiders have not ruled out former Bosnia peacemaker Richard Holbrooke, Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia or a Republican, like Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, who could help negotiate with the Republican-controlled Congress on Clinton's international policy agenda.

Perry

According to a well-placed source, Perry informed his staff this morning of his plans to resign, telling them he expects to be defense secretary for at least a few more months.

Perry took over the department after the departure of Les Aspin, whose short and rocky tenure ended in 1993. At the time, Perry noted that he had to be "urged" to take the job.

Kantor

Kantor reportedly told Clinton he plans to resign, although it is unclear when he informed the president of his decision.

Clinton chose Kantor in April as the successor to late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, who was killed in a plane crash in Croatia.

Before being named commerce secretary, Kantor had acted as trade representative and had won praise from the president for negotiating tough trade deals with Japan.

O'Leary

O'Leary, the first woman to head the Energy Department, has long said she had little interest in staying beyond the first term. Her departure became almost a certainty as controversies over her international trips and alleged extravagance surfaced. She became a frequent target of congressional Republicans.

Speaking recently to a group of oil industry executives, O'Leary hinted she would not return for a second term.

While the timing of her announcement was uncertain, one source said it may be sooner than previously planned because she wants to head off further talk from the White House about her departure.