Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced he would be stepping down from his post effective July 7. Mineta has been the only Democrat in President Bush's Cabinet.
Mineta's spokesman, Robert Johnson, announced that Mr. Mineta would be 'moving on to pursue other challenges,' although he did not specify what those new challenges would entail.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said Mineta was not pressured into resigning. 'He was not being pushed out,' Snow said. 'As a matter of fact, the president and the vice president and others were happy with him. He put in five and half years -- that's enough time.'
Mineta was faced with the difficult responsibility of beefing up security in the nation's transportation system after the September 11 attacks in 2001. He oversaw the creation of the Transportation Security Administration which later became part of the Homeland Security Agency.
Prior to his present position, Mineta has a long history of service to this country. After a stint in the Army, Mineta was elected to local office in California including a stint as mayor of San Jose. He also represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives for 20 years and was appointed to two Cabinet positions, the first as commerce secretary under former President Clinton.
Mineta joined Bush's Cabinet on January 25, 2001, and became the longest-serving Transportation Secretary. There are now only two original members of President Bush's Cabinet: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.
Mineta proudly became the first Japanese-American to serve as a Cabinet Secretary and the first to serve as the mayor of a major American city. He was also the first American of Japanese heritage to chair a congressional committee.
Mineta and his family were held in Japanese detainment camps during World War II. He was 10 years-old at the time. While serving in Congress, Mineta helped pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which included an apology to the 120,000 Japanese-Americans who were placed in internment camps and a payment of $20,000 to each survivor.
