President Bush today announced his nomination of White House legal counsel Alberto Gonzales to replace John Ashcroft as Attorney General in his second-term Cabinet. If confirmed by the Senate, Gonzales would become the first Hispanic to serve as Attorney General.
"His sharp intellect and sound judgment have helped shape our policies in the war on terror," Bush said of Gonzales at a White House press conference.
Appointed by then-Gov. George W. Bush, Gonzales served on the Texas Supreme Court and as Texas' secretary of state. He was appointed White House counsel in January 2001.
Gonzales was born on August 4, 1955 in San Antonio, Texas. He earned a B.A. from Rice University in 1979 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1982. Gonzales and his wife Rebecca have three sons.
As Attorney General, Gonzales would direct the activates of the Justice Department and be seventh in the line of presidential succession.
Cabinet Secretaries (including the Attorney General) are nominated by the president, but must be approved by a simple majority vote (51) of the Senate. The only qualification is that a department secretary cannot be a member of Congress or hold any other elected office.
