11月15日，美国总统布什任命国家安全顾问赖斯为国务卿，接替辞职的鲍威尔。除鲍威尔外，美国教育部长佩齐、农业部长维尼曼和能源部长斯潘塞·亚伯拉罕也递交了辞呈。至此，继上周美国司法部长约翰·阿什克罗夫特和商务部长唐·埃文斯双双正式辞职后，布什政府的15名内阁成员中已有6名“重臣”离去。请看下面的报道：US President Bush has chosen his national security adviser¹ Condoleezza Rice to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state in his second term, a senior administration official said Monday.

Powell, a retired² four-star general who often clashed with more hawkish³ members of the administration on Iraq and other foreign policy issues, resigned in a Cabinet exodus⁴ that promises a starkly⁵ different look to US President Bush's second-term team.