Secretary Of Defense U S

President Clinton, laying the foundation for his second-term Cabinet, nominated U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright on Thursday to be the nation's first female secretary of State and chose retiring Republican Sen. William S. Cohen of Maine to be secretary of Defense. Ending a tortuous search for a national security team, Clinton also named National Security Advisor Anthony Lake to run the troubled Central Intelligence Agency and filled Lake's current post with his deputy, Samuel R.

In just four weeks, the nation's new defense secretary, 66-year-old William J. Perry, has begun making significant changes in both the style and the structure of the Pentagon's operations, earning early high marks within the Defense Department and outside.

William J. Perry was sworn in Thursday as President Clinton's new secretary of defense, ending a 7 1/2-weeklong effort by the Administration to replace departing Secretary Les Aspin. The 66-year-old former Stanford University engineering professor took the oath of office in a private ceremony at the Pentagon after the Senate voted, 97 to 0, to confirm his nomination. Earlier, the Senate Armed Services Committee had endorsed the appointment unanimously.

President Clinton on Monday nominated Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Perry, a respected administrator with largely untested political skills, to take over the Pentagon's top position. Clinton praised the 66-year-old expert in defense technology and procurement as "a real pro," saying that "he has the right skills and management experience for the job. He has the right vision for the job."

The White House took the unusual step Sunday night of saying that William J. Perry was still in the running for secretary of defense after reports circulated that he had expressed misgivings about the job. Perry is deputy secretary of defense and has been regarded as a front-runner for the top spot after nominee Bobby Ray Inman, a retired admiral, bowed out Tuesday with a blast at his critics.

President Clinton speculated Thursday that retired Adm. Bobby Ray Inman withdrew as the nominee for secretary of defense because "down deep inside I think maybe he wasn't sure he wanted to go back" to government service. Clinton, in his first public comment on Inman's decision, said Americans "shouldn't lose sight" of Inman's 30 years of military service in which he rose to the rank of four-star admiral.

Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Perry, a former Stanford University engineering professor who is highly regarded at the Pentagon, has emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Les Aspin as defense secretary, White House sources said Thursday.

Women's groups expressed chagrin Tuesday over this week's White House decision to forgive Bobby Ray Inman for failing to pay Social Security taxes for his housekeeper but said they will not seek to block his nomination as secretary of defense.

White House officials said Monday that Secretary of Defense-designate Bobby Ray Inman had failed to pay Social Security taxes for a part-time housekeeper but that President Clinton would proceed with the nomination. If confirmed, Inman would join at least one other Cabinet member--Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown--and two dozen other high-level appointees who have received top Administration jobs despite Social Security tax violations.

Defense Secretary Les Aspin resigned Wednesday, putting an early end to a troubled tenure that began with a crisis over gays in the military, worsened with the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Somalia and closed amid a squabble over the Pentagon budget. President Clinton is expected to nominate Bobby Ray Inman, a national security figure with a long career in intelligence, to succeed Aspin, senior Administration officials said Wednesday night. The appointment could come as early as today.