Ex-NYC police chief seen as Ridge successor

WASHINGTON -- President Bush plans to nominate Bernard Kerik, who led the New York City police through the crisis of the 2001 terrorist attacks, as the next Homeland Security secretary as early as today, according to Republican officials.

Kerik, the former New York police commissioner, who stoutly defended Bush's homeland security record in a primetime speech during the Republican Convention last summer, surfaced late as a possible candidate to replace Tom Ridge. But his likely selection drew widespread praise yesterday.

''He's uniquely qualified for the job," said David Heyman, the director of the homeland security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ''The secretary has to understand first responders and working with cities because that's where the fight is. And he will have to calm an anxious public and provide leadership in times of danger. He clearly has had the experience of what that means."

In other Cabinet news yesterday, Bush nominated Governor Mike Johanns of Nebraska to be the next agriculture secretary, replacing Ann Veneman. Johanns has been a strong supporter of corn-derived ethanol fuels. His nomination comes at a time when reducing agriculture subsidies and tariffs have dominated international trade negotiations.

In addition, John Danforth, the US ambassador to the United Nations and a former Republican senator from Missouri, resigned yesterday after less than six months on the job.

But it was word of the likely nomination of Kerik that caused the most chatter in Washington yesterday evening. It was first definitively reported by the Associated Press, which cited an anonymous White House official, and independently confirmed by several Boston Globe sources close to the administration.

Kerik, 49, is a senior vice president at the consulting firm founded by former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who appointed him as commissioner of the city's Police Department in 2000. The two served side by side during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the rescue and recovery operations in their aftermath. An Army veteran, Kerik also recently served for three months in Iraq in 2003 as a special assistant training Iraqi police.

Lawmakers from New York, where leaders have long complained that the federal government should be concentrating a greater share of homeland security assistance given the greater risk of a terrorist attack, were particularly pleased at the news that one of their own would be taking over the department.

''If there were ever a state that deserved to have one of its citizens appointed head of homeland security, it's New York," said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. ''New York should always be the focal point of homeland security activities and Bernie Kerik is a tried and true New Yorker who understands our city, our state, our problems, and our needs."

Representative Vito J. Fossella, a Republican who represents Staten Island and Brooklyn, also said that the rise of Kerik could mean a larger flow of homeland security money for America's largest cities.

''Bernie Kerik knows the needs of New York City and how to fight terrorism better than anybody," Fossella said.

James Carafano, a homeland security specialist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said that Kerik would face ''a steep learning curve" as he came to Washington and encountered, for the first time, a need to build strong relationships with Congress. He noted that Congress has still not reorganized itself despite the urging of the Sept. 11 Commission, so Kerik will face 88 committee and subcommittee chairmen with partial jurisdiction over his department.

Kerik showed a willingness to speak bluntly while giving testimony in May, when the Sept. 11 Commission grilled leaders of the New York City police and fire departments about their emergency response efforts at the World Trade Center. Several commissioners attacked their record as one of ''scandalous" turf battles and called for both departments to be consolidated and put under a single public safety director.

But Kerik disagreed with that plan, contending that the city's strong-mayor system provided for management oversight and noting that most of the time, the police and fire departments are undertaking very different tasks.

Carafano said while large cities and emergency responders will see the choice of Kerik as a win, rural areas, state governments, and the private sector will be more leery of what his tenure will mean.

''Certainly it's a very nonpolitical choice, so you can't argue they're playing politics with homeland security and you can't argue the guy's not qualified," Carafano said. ''But it's almost impossible to have a perfect Homeland Security secretary because there are so many different stakeholders in the position. The business community is going to be more apprehensive about this."

Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Malden, suggested Kerik will have some tough work ahead of him -- particularly in areas where commercial interests have resisted further government regulations.

''The United States still allows cargo which is not inspected to be placed on passenger planes," Markey said. ''Port security is still bad. They have not yet [made new permanent rules] on security around nuclear power plants in the United States. And chemical facilities are unprotected."

Bryan Bender, Rick Klein, and Anne Kornblut of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was also used.