Ashcroft is leaving.

Several sources are now reporting that both Ashcroft (Attorney General) and Don Evans (Commerce secretary) have turned in their resignations. Ashcroft in particular has been a polarizing force, as some have thought he went overboard in using the patriot act to curtail civil liberties, while others have pointed out that his vigilance has helped prevent further attacks against America. Both men seem to be leaving on good terms with the president, both their letters of resignations and President's Bush's response to them had positive tones.

Well, we have been expecting some sort of cabinet shakeup since the election. I am a bit surprised that Evans is leaving, due to his long relationship with President Bush, but that sort of job is very taxing, even when you are helping a friend. There has been a lot of talk recently about Ashcroft's health, so it is not surprising to see him go. I found the note in the fox news article about him fighting for civil liberties to be most interesting. The claim is that some of the actions that the government has taken were actually done against his recommendation (such as the treatment of US citizens taken as enemy combatants). However, once he was overruled, he went along with the pentagon's requests and took the heat for it. Of course this would be impossible to verify (since he would never admit it) but it does put an interesting perspective on his tenure.

It will be interesting to see how the cabinet changes in the weeks to come, particularly where Powell, Rumsfeld, and Rice end up.