JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: And the political storm over the Bush Cabinet and the consequences are also the focus of our "Ask CNN" segment today.</s>MATTHEW MCWILLIAMS, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS: Hi. My name is Matthew McWilliams, and I'm a senior at Texas A&M; University at College Station, Texas, and I was wondering, if one of President Bush's Cabinet members doesn't get selected, how would that affect his presidency?</s>MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are two ways a Cabinet nominee can be derailed. And one case we've already seen, that nominee can withdraw himself or herself from consideration. That's what happened with Linda Chavez.</s>LINDA CHAVEZ, FORMER LABOR SECRETARY NOMINEE: I have asked President Bush to withdraw my name for secretary of labor.</s>GARRETT: Also, the Senate, through its advise-and-consent powers, can deny a nominee that elevation to a Cabinet position. Now, the key part of your question is, what does that do to a presidency? In the Linda Chavez case, I don't think much is going to happen to damage the Bush presidency, because she withdrew because she gave bad information to Bush officials. However, if the Senate were to defeat one of the Bush nominees on a straight-up vote, that would send a signal that the new Bush presidency is having very rough times dealing with this new Senate. It's going to be a narrowly divided Senate, 50-50, with a one-vote majority held by the sitting president of the Senate. That would be Vice President Dick Cheney. So all votes are going to be very closely watched. If any Bush nominee is defeated by the Senate, that's a clear indication he does not have the clout he needs to move the Senate in the direction he wants to take it, which could be a bad early sign for future relations between this new president and a sitting Senate.
Ask CNN: How Would a Failed Cabinet Nomination Affect the Bush Presidency?