Clinton Nominates Mineta for Commerce Secretary

President Clinton announced he was nominating former California Rep. Norman Mineta to become commerce secretary, to fill the vacancy left as William Daley leaves July 15 to run the effort to make Vice President Al Gore the next president.

Mineta, a Japanese-American who was put into a World War II internment camp at a young boy, would reportedly be the first Asian-American cabinet member if confirmed. He would also be a commerce chief with special understanding of the transportation sector.

Mineta was a 21-year congressman, and rose to become chairman of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee in 1993. Yet after the Republican takeover of the House after the 1994 elections knocked Democrats out of their committee chairs, Mineta resigned in 1995 to be a senior executive at defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Clinton also praised Mineta’s knowledge of trade and technology issues.