Top-level personnel changes at Pentagon expected

With the election over, the Bush administration sees it as politically safe to make changes in its Pentagon lineup without looking like a team in disarray.

Navy Secretary Gordon England, who has complained to colleagues that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld freezes him out of decision-making, is expected to leave to become deputy director of the Office of Homeland Security.

Army Secretary Thomas White may well follow England out the door, much to the relief of administration officials who see his Enron past as a liability. Although White's deputy, R. L. Brownlee, a former director of the Senate Armed Services Committee staff, would seem a logical choice for the top job, one official said Rumsfeld would prefer another businessman.

Air Force Secretary James Roche, another former staff director of Armed Services, is also frustrated with Rumsfeld's nonconsultative style, but probably not enough to quit just yet.