Clinton Nominates Mineta For Cabinet

Fri., June 30, 2000

President Clinton nominated former Rep. Norman Mineta, an executive with America’s biggest defense contractor, to lead the Commerce Department and become the first Asian-American Cabinet secretary.

“He brings an in-depth understanding of American business and a strong sense of the needs of our high-tech economy,” the president said at an Oval Office announcement ceremony Thursday. “But he also has a deep concern for people, for people in places who are not yet fully participating in this economy.”

As a former member of Congress, Mineta is expected to win strong support in the Senate. If confirmed, he would succeed William Daley, who is stepping down July 15 to run Vice President Al Gore’s presidential campaign.

Mineta, a Japanese-American who spent his childhood in a Wyoming internment camp during World War II, served 21 years in the House representing the Silicon Valley area around San Jose, Calif.

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Clinton Nominates Mineta For Cabinet

Jesse Tinsley

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