SENATE CONFIRMS NEW DEA CHIEF

WASHINGTON -- GOP Rep. Asa Hutchinson, one of the House prosecutors in
former President Clinton's impeachment trial, won Senate confirmation
Wednesday to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration.

"I am thrilled that the Senate had given its consent to my nomination,"
Hutchinson, R-Ark., said after the 98-1 voice vote by the
Democratic-controlled Senate.

"It is difficult to leave Congress, but I am excited to have the
opportunity to serve Arkansas and the country by beginning our great
national crusade against illegal drugs," said Hutchinson, 50.

Said his brother, Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark.: "This is a moment of great
pride for me."

The lone dissenting vote came from Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., who said he
disagreed with Hutchinson's support of "the escalation of the drug war in
Colombia."

"He also evidenced no understanding of the effect on our criminal justice
and our penal system of draconian fixed sentencing for possession of small
amount of drugs," Dayton continued. "And he rejected outright the
possibility of decriminalization of marijuana for strictly medicinal purposes."

Not voting was Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Clinton was impeached by the House on two articles of perjury and
obstruction of justice. The Senate voted to acquit the president in
February 1990.

Asa Hutchinson did not say when he would resign, saying he had to
coordinate the timing with the White House. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
will set dates for the special election to determine who will occupy
Hutchinson's seat after his resignation.

Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor, is serving his third term from a
heavily Republican district in northwest Arkansas.

As a U.S. attorney for western Arkansas in the 1980s, he prosecuted and won
a guilty plea from Roger Clinton, the former president's half brother, on a
drug charge.

At his confirmation hearing, Hutchinson told the Senate Judiciary Committee
that the battle against drug use was "a noble purpose worthy of a great
crusade."

"I have every confidence he will do a terrific job," said Sen. Orrin Hatch
of Utah, the top Republican on the committee.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., was one of Clinton's
primary defenders during the Senate impeachment trial, but said he did not
hold a grudge against Hutchinson.

"I have a great deal of respect of him," Leahy said. "Every time I dealt
with him, he was absolutely truthful with me. He never broke his word to
me, he never broke a commitment to me."

In the House, Hutchinson is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and
the House Speaker's Task Force for a Drug Free America.

A former chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, Hutchinson has a law
degree from the University of Arkansas.

The DEA is part of the Justice Department, and is at the forefront of U.S.
drug interdiction efforts.

On the Net:

Senate: http://www.senate.gov

Drug Enforcement Administration: http://www.dea.gov