zimv20
Nov 12, 2004, 04:02 PM
link (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/12/paige.leaves.ap/index.html)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Education Secretary Rod Paige intends to leave his Cabinet position, a Bush administration official told The Associated Press Friday.
"The secretary has been looking at leaving, and he's been in discussion with the White House about the right time to do so," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A Texan like Bush, Paige, 71, rose to prominence as an award-winning superintendent in Houston before becoming the nation's first black education secretary.
He has been an outspoken defender of No Child Left Behind, the education law at the center of Bush's domestic agenda.
Paige would be the third member of the Bush Cabinet to make plans to leave since the president won a second term. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans also are departing.
Paige has not formally handed in his resignation, according to the official, who has talked to Paige about his plans.
A leading candidate to replace Paige is Margaret Spellings, Bush's domestic policy adviser who helped shape his school agenda when he was the Texas governor. Spellings has a keen interest in schools and may want the Cabinet-level education job.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Education Secretary Rod Paige intends to leave his Cabinet position, a Bush administration official told The Associated Press Friday.
"The secretary has been looking at leaving, and he's been in discussion with the White House about the right time to do so," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A Texan like Bush, Paige, 71, rose to prominence as an award-winning superintendent in Houston before becoming the nation's first black education secretary.
He has been an outspoken defender of No Child Left Behind, the education law at the center of Bush's domestic agenda.
Paige would be the third member of the Bush Cabinet to make plans to leave since the president won a second term. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans also are departing.
Paige has not formally handed in his resignation, according to the official, who has talked to Paige about his plans.
A leading candidate to replace Paige is Margaret Spellings, Bush's domestic policy adviser who helped shape his school agenda when he was the Texas governor. Spellings has a keen interest in schools and may want the Cabinet-level education job.
