Rahm Emanuel to be Obama's chief of staff
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., Thursday accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be his White House chief of staff.
Emanual, 48, who worked in former President Bill Clinton's administration and was a close political ally of both Hillary Clinton and Obama, accepted the offer after weighing its impact on his young family.
In an interview with WLS-TV, Chicago, that aired Wednesday after Emanuel's name was floated, the congressmen said of his hesitancy, "This is not a professional choice. This is a personal choice about what my wife and I want to do for our family, as much as what to do with my career."
Elected in 2002, Emanuel is the Democratic Caucus Chair, the fourth-highest ranking member of the House Democratic leadership.
Emanuel began his career with the consumer rights organization Illinois Public Action. He worked on Paul Simon's 1984 election to the U.S. Senate and in 1989 served as a senior adviser and chief fundraiser for Richard M. Daley.
Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden spent most of Wednesday meeting with their transition team of John Podesta, former President Bill Clinton's chief of staff ; Valerie Jarrett, an Obama adviser and friend, and Pete Rouse, Obama's chief of staff in the Senate, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Obama also signaled he would announce nominees to key positions quickly.
Among those reportedly on the short list as Treasury secretary are Timothy Geithner, president of New York's Federal Reserve Bank, and Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
Current Defense Secretary Bob Gates is expected to be asked to serve in Obama's administration. Republican Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana is believed to be on a short list for secretary of state, as are Democrats John Kerry, U.S. senator from Massachusetts, and Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico.
Agency leaders also began preparing for transition teams, the Post said, and asking political appointees whether they would like to work in the Obama administration.
Bush says he'll meet with Obama next week
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush and President-elect Barack Obama will meet Monday to discuss policy matters, the White House confirmed Thursday.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the outgoing and incoming U.S. leaders would meet in the Oval Office while Laura Bush and Michelle Obama would tour the private residence, CNN reported.
Obama in a statement said he looked forward to the meeting to "begin the process of a smooth and efficient transition."
Bush addressed the executive branch employees at the South Lawn Thursday, saying Obama and his transition team will be briefed on ongoing policy matters ranging from the financial markets crisis to the war in Iraq for the next 75 days.
For more than a year, federal departments and agencies have been preparing for a smooth transition, Bush said.
"We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in," Bush said. "This will also be America's first wartime presidential transition in four decades."
"So for the next 75 days, all of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running," he said.
But as teams work on the transition, Bush said his administration has taken measures "to ensure that the executive branch is prepared to fulfill its responsibilities at all times."
As his tenure winds down, Bush said his administration will focus on several issues, including the financial crisis and pressing Congress to approve free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
After his remarks, Bush waded through the crowd to chat and shake hands.
Olmert, Bush prepare for final meeting
JERUSALEM, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans one last pitch to U.S. President Bush later this month before both leaders leave office, associates say.
Olmert is looking for commitments from Bush on the peace process with the Palestinians and Syria, the future of U.S. military aid and various arms deals, Haaretz reported Thursday.
Israel also wants the cancellation of the visa requirement for Israelis who want to visit the United States.
While Olmert is still looking for promises from Bush, the real questions being asked in Jerusalem relate to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, observers say.
Some questions to be answered relate to the level of military aid to Israel and how will Israel's nuclear ambitions and security requirements be met in the future.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due in Israel Thursday in advance of the Sharm-Al-Sheikh summit next Sunday, where this past year's Israeli-Palestinian negotiations will be reviewed.
At the end of the month, Olmert will pay a farewell visit to Bush at the White House and the two will prepare for briefing President-elect Obama.
Congressional Dems jockey for posts
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. congressional Democrats, flush with their expanded majorities in both houses, have engaged in some post-election skirmishes over leadership roles.
Leadership battles erupted as lawmakers contemplated the prospects of greater new power and opportunity, The New York Times reported Thursday.
For instance, Democratic aides said Rep. Henry Waxman of California was expected to challenge Michigan Rep. John Dingell, the longest-serving House Democrat, for the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the newspaper said.
In the Senate, meanwhile, Democrats could move quickly to try to remove Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who supported and campaigned for Republican John McCain in his failed presidential bid, as Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman, the Times reported.
Innocent pleas made by Obama plot suspects
MEMPHIS, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Two white supremacists accused of plotting to kill President-elect Barack Obama pleaded innocent Thursday to related charges in Tennessee, prosecutors say.
Federal prosecutors told CNN that Daniel Cowart, 20, and Paul Schlesselman, 18, both entered innocent pleas during their U.S magistrate court arraignment in Memphis.
The two self-described white supremacists stand accused of plotting the assassination of Obama prior to Tuesday's national election, in which the Illinois politician was tabbed as the next U.S. president.
Prosecutors in the pair's case have alleged the two men had planned on trying to kill the U.S. senator following a killing-spree that would have targeted other black individuals.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal said the two suspects initially met online nearly a month ago and their discussions allegedly soon involved the multistate homicide plot.
The pair was arrested in Crockett County, Tenn., last week after their alleged plot was uncovered and now each man faces up to 50 years in prison on charges ranging from conspiracy to rob a federally licensed gun dealer to threatening a presidential candidate.
ICE chief Myers steps down
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Julie Myers resigned her post as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief, effective Nov. 15.
During Myers's three-year tenure, ICE set records for fugitive arrests and deportations, CNN reported Thursday. She also led efforts to identify and charge illegal immigrants in U.S. jails, modernized the deportation process and enhanced oversight of detention operations.
"Julie has been a major force in transforming ICE into a 21st century law enforcement agency," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement Wednesday in announcing Myers' resignation.
Her leadership also drew controversy, CNN reported. ICE received criticism for its more aggressive workplace enforcement of immigration laws, failing to provide adequate healthcare to some detainees in custody and for sedating deportees.
Her judgment also was called into question by some congressional members after Myers awarded a prize at an ICE Halloween costume party to a man in dreadlocks and wearing tinted face makeup.
ICE Deputy Assistant Secretary John Torres will run the agency during the presidential transition, a spokeswoman said.
