Gates could remain defense secretary during transition
WASHINGTON — What Robert Gates once called “inconceivable to me” — his remaining as defense secretary beyond Inauguration Day — is looking a bit more conceivable to the rest of Washington.
The 65-year-old former spymaster has turned publicly mum on the circumstances under which he would stay, even briefly, after President-elect Barack Obama takes office. But one of the leading scenarios for a wartime transition at the Pentagon has Gates holding the fort, at least for some months.
If Gates does stay on, the announcement could come soon.
A national security spokeswoman for Obama, Brooke Anderson, said Thursday she had no comment on Gates or on whether the president-elect has held discussions with any candidate for the Pentagon job.
Auto industry bailout stalls; Congress session nears end
WASHINGTON — The $25 billion rescue plan for the auto industry, desperately sought by Detroit’s beleaguered Big Three, collapsed Thursday as Congress drew the line at one more bailout and Democrats said they wouldn’t even consider it until the companies produced a convincing plan for rebuilding their once-mighty industry.
The demise of the rescue — at least for now — left uncertain the fate of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, and sent Wall Street spiraling to its lowest level in years.
The carmakers have been clobbered by lackluster sales and choked credit, and are battling to stay afloat through year’s end. Failure of one or more of the Big Three would be a severe further blow to the floundering economy and throw a million or more additional workers off the job.
“Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at a hastily called news conference in the Capitol.
GM, Ford and Chrysler quickly issued statements promising to submit the blueprint the Democrats demanded.
Be the first to comment on this article!