NATION : Rep. Martin Picked for Cabinet
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WASHINGTON — President Bush said today that he will nominate outgoing Illinois Rep. Lynn Martin as his new secretary of labor.
Bush called Martin a “distinguished public servant and cherished friend” in naming her to the post.
Martin, 51, will succeed Elizabeth Hanford Dole, who stepped down to head the American Red Cross.
A 10-year House Republican, Martin has longstanding ties to Bush. She backed him in his first presidential bid in 1980, helped him prepare for his vice presidential debate with Democrat Geraldine A. Ferraro in 1984 and was a national co-chairman of his presidential campaign two years ago.
Martin had been rumored to be a shoo-in for the job, because of her sex and her status as a veteran House member and because her appointment would give Bush a chance to reward her for giving up a safe congressional seat to run against Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) She lost the race by nearly 1 million votes.
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