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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 25, 2002

President Bush Announced His Intention to Nominate Three Individuals to Serve as Members of His Administration

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate three individuals to serve as members of his administration:

The President intends to nominate Thomas J. Ridge of Pennsylvania, to be the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Currently he serves as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. Before being asked by the President to move to Washington in October of 2001, he served as Governor and U.S. Congressman in his home state of Pennsylvania. In 1982 he became the first enlisted Vietnam combat veteran elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was re-elected six times. He was then twice elected Governor, serving from 1995 to 2001. He graduated from Harvard with honors, and was then drafted in to the U.S. Army, where he served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star for Valor.

The President intends to nominate Gordon England of Texas, to be Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He currently serves as the Secretary of the Navy. Prior to serving in this capacity, Mr. England served as executive Vice President of General Dynamics Corporation. Throughout his career, he served as a member of the Defense Science Board and has received awards from the National Defense Industrial Association and the National Management Association. He is also a member of the Aviation Heritage Hall of Fame. Mr. England received his bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and his master's from the M.J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University.

The President intends to nominate Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, to be Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security of the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Hutchinson currently serves as the Administrator for the Drug Enforcement Agency. Prior to his service at the Department of Justice, he served as a member of the U.S. Congress where he was on the House Judiciary Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Before his time in Congress, Mr. Hutchinson practiced law in Arkansas for 21 years and tried more than 100 jury trials. He went on to be the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation at age 31. He received his bachelor's degree from Bob Jones University and his J.D. from the University of Arkansas.

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