Retribution sank nomination, Chavez says

New search begins as Bush suffers first Cabinet setback

Chavez says she decided to step aside to assure President-elect Bush a smooth transition

January 9, 2001
Web posted at: 11:23 p.m. EST (0423 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Linda Chavez said the uproar over her short-lived nomination as labor secretary was a campaign of retribution for the outcome of the presidential vote in Florida. Chavez said on CNN's "Wolf Blitzer Reports" that her critics were engaged in "an effort to continue the election by other means."

Appearing on the program Tuesday night, Chavez also told Blitzer that she believes "they're out to get George W. Bush's nominees."

"I'm only the first person," Chavez said. "I can tell you (attorney general nominee) John Ashcroft is going to face much worse than I have. Gale Norton (the interior secretary nominee) may face worse than I have. Even Christine Todd Whitman (nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency), who is considered a moderate, may face worse than I have."

As the Bush transition team sought to replace Chavez, among the candidates floated around Washington were: former Rep. James Talent of Missouri; Rep. Jennifer Dunn of Washington; and Eloise Anderson, the former chief of the California Welfare Department under former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. (More on finding Chavez's replacement)

VIDEO Chavez news conference (January 9) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) President-elect George W. Bush comments on Linda Chavez's decision to withdraw her candidacy for labor secretary (January 9, 2001) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Chavez speaks with CNN's Wolf Blitzer (January 9) Part 1 Part 2 (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Eileen O'Connor reports Linda Chavez's withdrawal (January 9) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's interview with Marta Mercado (January 9) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Bush, surrounded by moving company workers, talks about going to the White House and defends Chavez (January 8) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   TRANSCRIPT Chavez on "Wolf Blitzer Reports"     ALSO Bush discusses defense budget, strategy Chat transcript: Former Labor Secretary Lynn Martin on Chavez controversy

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Earlier Tuesday, Chavez withdrew her name from consideration after questions arose over an illegal immigrant who stayed with her and provided household help in the early 1990s. Chavez blamed what she said were the "search-and-destroy" politics of Washington.

"Unfortunately, because of the way the stories have played over the last few days, I have decided that I am becoming a distraction, and therefore I have asked President Bush to withdraw my name for secretary of labor," said Chavez, who made the announcement at Bush transition headquarters in Washington.

Her withdrawal followed media scrutiny of her work relationship with Guatemalan immigrant Marta Mercado, to whom Chavez gave money and a room in her house. Although Chavez denied Mercado was paid for providing household help, it is against the law in the United States to house an illegal immigrant.

"My, what a difference a week makes," Chavez began as she publicly removed herself from consideration for the labor post just seven days after her January 2 nomination.

She later said no one called to push her to make her decision.

"But I've also been around this town long enough to know that when nobody is calling you and saying, 'Hang in there,' that isn't a great signal either," Chavez said.

On his arrival in Washington late Tuesday, Bush told reporters he was "saddened that Linda Chavez will not be in my Cabinet" but that it was her decision to withdraw her name.

"I absolutely believe she would have been a fine Cabinet secretary, but I can understand her reluctance to move forward," he said, adding that he still considered her a friend.

In a written statement earlier, Bush described Chavez as "a good person, with a great deal of compassion for people from all walks of life."

A short time later, Chavez said she was not pleased with the way her troubled nomination was handled by the future administration.

"The only thing that disappoints me is that this is a transition and a campaign that has had to deal with similar kinds of problems. I mean there was the DUI story at the end of the campaign, there were a lot of people who rushed in to support the campaign," she said, adding that there was little support in her case and "a little bit of a double standard."

But she chalked it up to the inexperience of some staffers. "They're not old Washington hands, and I think it could have been handled better," she said.

"One of the things that really didn't serve me well is that I was silenced from Saturday -- late in the afternoon when I learned about this -- until today. I was constantly told 'don't talk to the press.' I thought I had a pretty good story to tell," she said.

Chavez's withdrawal was prefaced by a description of the help she got from others during a difficult childhood. She was joined on stage by three immigrants -- two Hispanic women and a Vietnamese immigrant -- who all told of the assistance they had received from Chavez when they first arrived in the United States.

Chavez reiterated her belief that the assistance she provided to Mercado was nothing more than an act of charity. "Knowing everything that has happened over the last week, that if that woman showed up at my door ... I would do it in an instant, without hesitation," she said.

Chavez knew of immigrant's status

But the Bush transition team has been dogged during the past 48 hours by questions as to whether Chavez fully disclosed information about Mercado when Chavez was being considered for the labor position. Of special concern, according to several aides, is that Chavez told Bush advisers she did not know Mercado was in the country illegally until the woman left her home in late 1993.

Chavez said Tuesday that she suspected Marcado was in the country illegally, but that she does not check immigration papers when people come to her for help. She characterized the controversy as a calculated attack against her nomination.

"So long as the game in Washington is a game of search and destroy, I think we will have very few people who are willing to do what I did, which was to put myself through this in order to serve," she said.

In 1993, Chavez herself was highly critical of a similar controversy surrounding President Clinton's nomination of Zoe Baird for attorney general. The nomination was derailed because Baird had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny.

"I think most of the American people were upset during the Zoe Baird nomination that she hired an illegal alien. That was what upset them more than the fact the she did not pay Social Security taxes," Chavez during an interview with PBS at the time.

Chavez characterized the Baird controversy as much different as her own Tuesday, arguing that a number of Americans had raised questions about Baird's lifestyle, which included hiring a chauffeur and nanny. However, she added: "I do believe Zoe Baird was treated unfairly."

Talent, Dunn mentioned as possible labor nominees

Mercado, who said she now is a legal U.S. resident, performed various household jobs for Chavez. "Sometimes I cleaned the kitchen, mopped the floors. I vacuumed," Mercado said Monday in an interview with CNN. "I did some laundry sometimes, some ironing, but it was not every day."

Mercado said Chavez sometimes gave her money. "I think it was a gift. For example, when I started to go to school, she bought the books that I was going to need for my English classes," she said.

In addition to the immigrant controversy, Chavez's nomination had also come under fire from organized labor and other groups for her opposition to affirmative action and other conservative stances.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Health, Education and Labor Committee, had promised extensive Senate questioning over what he called "troubling allegations."

"If there's a silver lining to the events of recent days, it's the opportunity to now name a labor secretary in the distinguished tradition of recent Republican presidents," he said after Chavez's announcement. "Secretaries like John Dunlop, William Usery, and Elizabeth Dole were effective in carrying out the important mission of the Labor Department."

Immigrant Marta Mercado describes her relationship with Linda Chavez on CNN early Tuesday

Liberal groups unite to oppose Ashcroft nomination

Also Tuesday, a coalition of left-leaning advocacy organizations announced a coordinated effort to oppose the nomination of former Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri as attorney general.

At a news conference in Washington, the groups denounced Ashcroft's conservative stances against abortion, gun control laws and affirmative action. Hillary Shelton, member of the NAACP's Washington chapter, promised a "tooth and nail" campaign to oppose the nomination.

Ashcroft's statements and actions during nearly three decades of public life on the state and national level have made him a champion of abortion opponents and a nemesis of abortion rights supporters. Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said her group feared Ashcroft would have a significant impact on the future makeup of the Supreme Court.

"When George Bush considers appointments to the Supreme Court and turns to his attorney general for help, what names do we think a John Ashcroft would offer to the president of the United States? His record clearly indicates it would point the way toward those nominees that would overturn Roe v. Wade," she told reporters.

Bush spent Tuesday morning at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where moving vans were dropping off some of his belongings from the governor's mansion in Austin. He is scheduled to arrive in Washington late Tuesday for a series of national security briefings, as well as participate in an education forum, before returning to Texas on Thursday.

The president-elect is expected to announce shortly his choices for three important high-level positions: director of the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. trade representative, and representative to the United Nations.

While in Washington, Bush will also sit for an official photo portrait -- which will be displayed in post offices and other federal buildings after he assumes office January 20.

CNN.com Writer Mike Ferullo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.