Bush Nominates Idaho Governor Kempthorne as Interior Secretary

President George W. Bush nominated Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne as his new secretary of the Interior, the federal department that oversees one out of every five acres of land in the nation. Kempthorne, 54, a Republican and former U.S. senator, was named to replace Gale Norton, who announced last week she is leaving at the end of the month. The nomination is subject to approval of the U.S. Senate. Kempthorne has ``been a responsible steward'' of Idaho's public lands and is ``the right man'' to continue the work started by Norton in managing U.S.-owned land, Bush said today in making the announcement in the Oval Office. Kempthorne is approaching the end of his second term as Idaho's governor and can't run again. He previously served one term as U.S. senator from the state and as mayor of Boise, Idaho's capital....