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White House Workshop

The 2005 Presidential Transition

The election is over. The people have spoken-and the business of government continues. Buoyed by a narrow but convincing victory, President Bush is defining an ambitious agenda for a second term. His list of policy initiatives is long and comprehensive, but deep divisions within the electorate and on Capitol Hill will not make governing easy. How and if, the opposition will be accommodated remains to be seen.

Personnel matters will also loom large. Cabinet changes are inevitable. Judicial nominations at the highest level are expected. What are the criteria that the President will use in identifying new appointees, who are the likely candidates, and how quickly will his choices be confirmed? President Bush has said his victory at the polls gave him "political capital" that he now plans to spend. How is he going to spend that capital and what federal programs and initiatives might be impacted as a result?

Will there be shifts in foreign policy as result of the President's experiences in Iraq? Will the second Bush Administration make a concerted effort to heal international tensions; and if so, who would lead such an effort. Will the President shift his focus to the continuing concerns about the economy, energy and the environment?

This timely workshop will focus on these issues in an effort to enumerate the options which the President has, the priorities he must establish, and the relationships he must develop to success in his second term.

Transition Speakers and Topics

The Second Term Challenges in the Domestic and International Arenas
Stephen Wayne, Program Moderator. Professor of Government, Georgetown University

Lessons Learned from Earlier Transitions
Edwin Meese, III, Head of Reagan Chair in Public Policy, Heritage Foundation; Former U.S. Attorney General

National Security Strategy and the Defense Budget in President Bush's Second Term
Lawrence J. Korb, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Reagan

Iraq, After the U.S. and Iraqi Elections
Hisham Melhem, Washington-based Correspondent for the Al-Qabas International (London) and As-Safir Daily (Beirut)

Press Coverage of the 2004 National Election and the Transition
Sid Davis, Former Vice-President and Washington Bureau Chief, NBC News; Former Program Director, Voice of America

Bush and Congress: The Challenges Ahead
Kenneth Duberstein, Former Chief of Staff under President Reagan; Chairman and CEO, The Duberstein Group

U.S. Policy and the Middle East: Stay the Course or a New Direction
Yossi Shain, Professor, Georgetown University; Head of the School of Government, Tel Aviv University

Judicial Appointments: The Panorama of Players
Bruce Fein, Constitutional Scholar, Attorney; Weekly Columnist, Washington Times

President Bush and the New Cabin: Implications for Federal Managers
Alexis Simendinger, White House Correspondent, National Journal; Commentator, Washington Week in Review, CNN, National Public Radio