Leavitt: new job — Ex-Utah governor nominated to head HHS bureaucracy

WASHINGTON — Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt might be going from the frying pan into the fire with the announcement Monday that President Bush wants him to move from administering the Environmental Protection Agency to heading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"I've come to know Mike as a fine executive and as a man of great compassion," Bush said during a formal announcement of the nomination. "He is an ideal choice to lead one of the largest departments of the U.S. government."

If confirmed by the Senate — and there is no reason to suspect he won't be — Leavitt will be put in charge of a massive bureaucracy with a $548 billion budget and 66,639 employees.

And Bush has an ambitious agenda for Leavitt, who recently moved his wife and son, Westin, to Washington, D.C., following the November election.

"In this new term, we will implement the first-ever prescription drug benefit for seniors under Medicare," Bush said. "We will expand federal cooperation with faith-based groups that provide essential services, such as counseling and treatment for addictions. We will continue pursuing the great promise of medical research, always ensuring that the work is carried out with vigor and moral integrity. We will not relent in our efforts to protect the American people from disease and the use of disease as a weapon against us."

Leavitt would replace Tommy Thompson, a longtime Leavitt friend from their days as Republican governors, who resigned after Bush's first term.

During brief remarks at the White House, Leavitt said he was grateful for the privilege to serve in the Bush Cabinet but he regretted having to leave the EPA.

"It's an agency filled with dedicated people whom I have come to have great affection for and (with whom I) have a sense of shared importance and mission in protecting public health," Leavitt said. "The quality of health and the health condition of people in this nation is a commitment that is shared among both agencies, as is the connection between science and health."

The nomination came as somewhat of a surprise in the nation's Capitol, where Leavitt's name had been circulating as a possible secretary of the Department of Homeland Security — especially after Bush's last nominee for the post withdrew his nomination as news surfaced about unsavory aspects of his personal life.

Even after the announcement had been made that Leavitt would head HHS, conservative pundit Pat Buchanan speculated on MSNBC that Leavitt would be a good choice for Homeland Security because he had already gone through the "vetting" process and no skeletons were found in his closet.