GOP names Hastert convention chairman

NEW YORK, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Delegates to the 2004 Republican National Convention Monday selected House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., chairman.

Hastert's nomination was approved by a voice vote during the committee's morning business.

By tradition, the senior member of the Republican leadership in the House is chosen as the convention's permanent chairman. Previous convention chairs include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former House Minority Leader Bob Michel, R-Ill., and Gerald R. Ford, who in 1974 became president of the United States after the resignation of Richard M. Nixon.