OBAMA SIGNS CABINET NOMINATIONS
WASHINGTON — Minutes after his inauguration speech Monday, President Barack Obama officially submitted top administration nominations to the Senate — John Brennan to be CIA director, former Sen. Chuck Hagel for defense secretary, Sen. John Kerry to be secretary of state and Jack Lew for treasury secretary.
Obama also signed a proclamation to commemorate the inauguration, titled the “National Day of Hope and Resolve, 2013.”
“I’m proclaiming peace on Earth and good will towards men,” Obama quipped as he signed the document.
Obama signed the documents at a traditional ceremony in the Capitol’s President’s Room, a small ornate room near the Senate chamber where presidents historically conduct business. Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic and Republican congressional leaders attended the short, lighthearted ceremony.
President Ronald Reagan established the tradition of visiting the room after taking the oath of office to sign documents and pose for photographs.
As he signed the nomination papers, Obama said, “I know they will be dealt with with great dispatch,” eliciting laughter from GOP leaders.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a confirmation hearing Thursday for Kerry. Kerry remains the panel’s chairman until his Senate confirmation, but Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the incoming chairman, will preside.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Hagel on Jan. 31. Brennan’s hearing in the Senate Intelligence committee is Feb. 7.
The Senate Finance Committee has yet to schedule a hearing for Lew.
HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, congratulated President Barack Obama as he begins his second term.
The 88-year-old former president issued a statement Monday saying, “Barbara and I send President and Mrs. Obama — and their wonderful girls — our best wishes and prayers on this historic day. May Almighty God bless them and our wonderful country over the next four years.”
Bush was released a week ago from a Houston hospital where he was treated for nearly two months for a bronchitis-related cough and other health issues. He served two terms as Ronald Reagan’s vice president before he was elected in 1988 to his only term as the nation’s 41st president.
He was inaugurated Jan. 20, 1989.
ELDER BUSH SENDS HIS REGARDS