CABINET Security nominee withdraws

Bush also has picked his next energy secretary.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bernard Kerik, President Bush's choice to be secretary of homeland security, has withdrawn his name from consideration, the White House announced late Friday.
Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan, in a conference call to news organizations, revealed that Kerik had withdrawn "for personal reasons."
"The president respects his decision and wishes the commissioner and his wife, Hala, well," McClellan said in a statement.
Energy office
Also Friday, President Bush picked a new energy secretary and dubbed him "a problem solver" -- a talent Samuel W. Bodman will need as he deals with high oil prices, nuclear waste and a Congress unwilling to pass the president's long-term energy plan.
The announcement filled one of the last two vacancies in Bush's second-term Cabinet, leaving only the secretary of health and human services. Bush is replacing nine of his 15 Cabinet members.
The selection of Bodman came as a surprise to most in the energy field and in Congress, but it was widely applauded.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee that will consider Bodman's nomination, predicted a "swift and smooth" confirmation.
Over the past four years, Bodman, 66, has been the No. 2 official at the Commerce Department and, more recently, the Treasury Department. He replaces Spencer Abraham, the former Michigan senator.
Bodman is a former president of Fidelity Investments and the former chairman and chief executive officer of Cabot Corp., a chemicals and specialty materials company. He has degrees in chemical engineering and taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Bush praised Bodman's management skills and noted his scientific background.