NATION : Yeutter Named GOP Chairman
WASHINGTON — In a move that further reshuffles his Cabinet and fills an embarrassing political void, President Bush today tapped Agriculture Secretary Clayton K. Yeutter to become the new chairman of the Republican Party.
If approved as expected later this month by the GOP National Committee, Yeutter will guide the party as national chairman through the 1992 elections. It would end a search prolonged because better-known Republicans were reluctant to take the job.
Yeutter, 60, a wealthy lawyer and Nebraska farmer, would in effect succeed Lee Atwater, the smart and sassy GOP strategist sidelined by a brain tumor almost a year ago.
Bush’s first choice for the job had been the head of his anti-drug office, William Bennett. No sooner had Bush chosen Bennett to galvanize the party, however, than Bennett abruptly bowed out.
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