WASHINGTON (AP) -- Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt easily won Senate confirmation Tuesday to become head of the Environmental Protection Agency after Senate Democrats sharply critical of the Bush administration backed down in the face of an overwhelming Republican show of force.
The Senate voted 88-8 to hand Leavitt the reins of the 18,000-employee agency. President Bush's nomination of Leavitt was helped by the Utah Republican's three terms as governor, during which he forged personal relationships with many Democrats who also were governors...