Bush Meets Congressional Leaders

Dec. 3, 2000 -- — As lawyers in Tallahassee argued the fate of thousands of contested ballots before a Florida judge, George W. Bush and running mate Dick Cheney met with two of Congress’ most influential Republican leaders Saturday.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott joined Bush and Cheney at the Texas governor’s ranch in Crawford. In their first meeting since the election, the four men discussed a 2001 agenda including issues such as Medicare, prescription drugs and potential tax relief.

They talked briefly with reporters, expressing confidence that Bush eventually will emerge the victor in one of the closest presidential elections in history.

Today on ABC’s This Week Andrew Card, Bush’s prospective Chief of Staff, shrugged off criticism that Bush may be moving too quickly and too surely with his transition in light of the unresolved election.

“He will be the next president of the United States, I have every reason to believe,” said Card. “But he is not acting with arrogance. He’s acting with responsibility to put together a team so he’ll be ready to be president January 20th (Inauguration Day).”

The Republicans met for three hours Saturday as Vice President Al Gore’s legal team tried to convince a judge in Florida to allow a hand recount of up to 14,000 disputed ballots. Today, the second day of the trial, Bush attorneys resumed their arguments against a hand recount.

Catch Word: Bipartisan

Whether Bush or Gore ultimately wins this election, the next president will face the daunting task of dealing with a Congress divided almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats. With that in mind, Bush and his advisers are now stressing “bipartisan” with greater frequency.

“We won’t be playing games with each other. I’m confident we can get [our agenda] done quickly,” Bush said Saturday.

Cheney and Bush sat casually around the fireplace at Bush’s ranch house with Lott and Hastert. During his campaign, Bush had distanced himself from the congressional leaders, billing himself as a Washington outsider.

But a smiling Bush said he doesn’t expect to be an outsider for long.

“I’m soon to be the insider. I’m soon to be the president,” he declared.

Lott, R-Miss., said the potential 50-50 partisan split in the Senate should be handled “very gingerly.”

Hastert added that it was time for members of both parties to come together behind a new president. “It’s time to stop talking and to do something … it’s time to start to plan,” the Illinois Republican said.

Searching Across Party Lines

Bush told reporters he’d already talked to one prominent Senate Democrat, John Breaux of Louisiana, who had been mentioned as a candidate for a Bush administration slot. But on Thursday Breaux denied being asked by any member of the transition team to join a potential Bush administration.

Today on This Week Card also downplayed talk of Breaux’s involvement in Bush’s transition plans.

Bush didn’t talk to Breaux “about a cabinet position or a particular slot in the administration,” Card said. “It was about the need to bring people together after this election is finally settled. Senator Breaux expressed an interest in helping to build a bridge so that we can get the country moving again.”

“We’ll be looking for the best people and Governor Bush is keeping all of his options open,” he also said.

Speculation about who Bush and Gore might select for administration positions has run high in recent days. Earlier this week, the Bush team opened its transition headquarters in McLean, Va.

But before Saturday, Bush had only met at his ranch with Cheney, who is running his transition efforts; Card; and retired Gen. Colin Powell to talk about a future move to the White House.

The popular Powell has frequently been mentioned as the leading candidate for secretary of state in a future Bush administration. But Powell, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the candidate’s father’s administration, said Thursday it was not certain he would play a role in the son’s Cabinet.

Gore Plans His Own Transition

Bush has been certified the winner of states giving him 271 Electoral College votes, one more than necessary to become president.

But Gore, the Democratic nominee, is formally contesting the results of the outcome in Florida, which carries with it 25 electoral votes. In Florida, Bush received just 537 votes over Gore, according to the certified totals. As of today, nearly three dozen lawsuits concerning the Florida vote are still pending.

Saturday Gore kept a low profile at the vice president’s residence in Washington D.C., lunching with his former college roommate at Harvard, actor Tommy Lee Jones, before grabbing a coffee at a nearby Starbucks with his wife Tipper. But in recent days, Gore also has made a show of his transition efforts.

The vice president has met at his White House offices with his running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, as well as Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, transition director Roy Neel, campaign chairman William Daley, foreign-policy adviser Leon Fuerth, and environmental adviser Katy McGinty.

Herman and McGinty have been suggested as possible members of a Gore Cabinet, with Herman’s name being floated as a possible chief of staff.

And while Gore aides have called the GOP transition efforts “presumptuous,” Gore said Tuesday that “Governor Bush and I, in the interests of the nation, should both proceed with transition planning and activities.”

But the vice president added, “I, personally, do not feel it is appropriate to announce the names of Cabinet members or to formally offer positions.”

In his remarks Wednesday, Cheney said the Bush transition effort was not at that stage yet.

Bush aides say the GOP nominee currently is more focused on White House staff issues than on Cabinet appointments.

Old Guard Or New Order?

Nonetheless, speculation continues to swirl about Bush’s possible Cabinet appointments.

Besides Powell, names being discussed are Bush’s current foreign policy adviser, Condoleezza Rice, as national security adviser, Montana Gov. Marc Racicot and Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating as attorney general and Bush campaign chairman Don Evans as commerce secretary.

Bush campaign transition spokesman Ari Fleischer has declined to confirm that Republican Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, a prominent Bush backer, had pulled himself out of the running for an administration post.

Former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia has been mentioned as a possible secretary of defense, but has said he would not want to be part of a Bush Cabinet.

Cheney, asked if Bush might be relying too heavily on holdovers from the administration of his father, President George Bush, said Wednesday he did not “see anything inconsistent with asking people who have got experience at the federal level, as well as other levels.”

Cheney was President Bush’s defense secretary.

ABCNEWS’ John Berman, Dana Hill, Tamara Lipper, Tom Shine and John McWethy contributed to this report.