The Week(s) in Review
ending January 6
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Gale Norton.
Good, Bad, Indifferent?
File photo © AP. |
Missed our stories? All the headlines for the week can be found
here,
here, and
here.
Norton gets picked for Interior
'Twas a couple of days before and after Christmas, but
not everyone is excited about George W. Bush's new Presidential
Cabinet.
And if you believe
environmentalists, his pick to head the Department of
Interior will have no creatures stirring once she takes over.
The former Colorado Attorney General comes to Capitol Hill
with a decidedly different agenda than her predecessor,
Bruce Babbitt. Her defense of property-rights and
support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge have conservationists worried. At least he
passed over Slade Gorton...
But its not just Norton who is raising eyebrows. While
Bush's cabinet is being noted for its diversity, John Ashcroft,
picked to be Attorney General, Linda Chavez, picked to
head the Department of Labor, and Spencer Abraham, who would
lead the Department of Energy even though he tried to
get rid of it as Senator, will be facing some rather
interesting confirmation hearings in the coming weeks.
Happy New Year!
Get the Story:
Bush staff
starts on diverse note (Politics 12/18)
Racicot turns down Bush post (Politics 12/21)
Campbell's chances
said to improve (Politics 12/22)
Missouri's Ashcroft
gets AG job (Politics 12/22)
Bush names Norton to Interior (Politics 12/29)
Norton's nomination may spell trouble (Politics 12/29)
Tough road ahead for Norton, others (Politics 1/4)
Norton's client list diverse (Politics 1/5)
Bush's Energy pick draws blanks (Politics 1/5)
Republicans get tribal crazy
Perhaps hoping to capitalize on
a Republican White House, two GOP Congressmen who have
had little to say on Indian issues suddenly
became experts on Indian Country. Or, at least
two aspects that often get the attention of non-Indians: gaming
and federal recognition.
To a befuddled press, Representatives Frank Wolf (R-Va) and Chris
Shays (R-Conn) announced they have asked the new
administration to conduct a full-scale reform
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They
also asked the General Accounting Office to
investigate gaming along with the entire
federal recognition process.
But in a nod to the still-in-power Bill Clinton,
the two asked the President not to issue a rumored executive
order granting any tribes federal recognition.
So far, he hasn't done so.
Get the Story:
Republicans want gaming investigation (Money Matters 12/18)
Republicans seek BIA reform (Politics 12/20)
Recognition rumor
almost a reality (Tribal Law 12/20)
White House says it won't recognize tribes (Tribal Law 12/20)
Republican letter to President Clinton (Tribal Law 12/20)
Republican letter to the General Accounting Office (Politics 12/20)
Republican letter to Vice President-elect Dick Cheney (Politics 12/20)
more stories
There's still more to read in the recap
of the past couple of week's top stories.
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