Bush minimises cabinet damage

Linda Chavez: First casualty in Bush cabinet

US President-elect George W Bush is seeking to minimise the damage caused by the withdrawal of his nominee for labour secretary, Linda Chavez.

He has begun a three-day trip to Washington during which he is expected to announce other high-level nominations, possibly naming a trade representative as early as Wednesday.

In the first major setback for the Republicans' transition process, Ms Chavez withdrew her name from consideration for the post on Tuesday after admitting sheltering an illegal immigrant.

I have decided that I am becoming a distraction and therefore I have asked President-elect Bush to withdraw my name

Linda Chavez

Mr Bush reacted almost immediately to the news, saying in a statement that he was disappointed Ms Chavez would not be in his cabinet.

Ms Chavez had been a controversial choice because of her right-wing views on some issues, notably her opposition to affirmative action and to increases in the minimum wage.

She came under fire for housing and paying a Guatemalan woman who did household chores for her in the early 1990s.

Battered woman

Ms Chavez acknowleged she had acted in contravention of US law, but said she had been motivated by compassion.

She insisted that she would show similar hospitality if the situation arose again.

Mr Bush said he was disappointed

Marta Mercado, the Guatemalan woman at the centre of the storm, had been battered and in trouble, she said.

At the news conference where she annouced her withdrawal, she said she was trying to put a "human face" on the story, and brought along five immigrants who praised her for helping them. Ms Mercado was not among them.

The fact that she had come under attack was, Ms Chavez said, typical of Washington politics and of the "politics of personal destruction".

"I would have made a great secretary of labour."

She added that her decision to withdraw sent a "very bad signal" to those who wanted to serve the American people.

Pressure to go

Ms Chavez told the news conference that the decision to withdraw her candidacy was her own, but Republican insiders say the Bush team had put pressure on her to go.

Unnamed Republican officials told the Associated Press that the Bush team had made it clear to Ms Chavez that they would not fight for her as the illegal immigrant charges became public.

Ms Mercado says Ms Chavez knew of her status

The Bush transition team, while acknowledging that Ms Chavez allowed Ms Mercado to stay in her home, have argued publicly that Ms Chavez did not know at the time about her status.

However, Ms Mercado said in an interview on Monday that she had told Ms Chavez that she was an illegal alien and that Ms Chavez had offered to help her gain legal status.

It is against United States law to knowingly harbour or employ an illegal alien.

Familiar situation

The BBC's Rob Watson in Washington says that while the withdrawal of Ms Chavez is a setback for Mr Bush, the president-elect has moved quickly to end the controversy and minimise the damage.

His staff has reportedly been in talks with Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy, who will chair the confirmation hearings for Mr Bush's Labour nominee, to discuss possible replacements for Ms Chavez.

The Chavez affair has a familiar ring to it, echoing events eight years ago when President Bill Clinton was choosing his first administration.

His first choice as Attorney-General, Zoe Baird, failed to take office after it was disclosed that she had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny.

Ms Chavez was vocal in her criticism of Ms Baird's nomination at the time.