become the first Hispanic Attorney General. Despite the historical implications of their nominations, both of them have drawn criticism for actions they took while in their previous government positions. Gonzales's nomination angered some Bush supporters because some of his rulings as a Supreme Court justice in Texas could be considered pro-choice, while many Republicans (including Bush himself) are against abortion. Next to be nominated was Domestic Policy Advisor Margaret Spellings on November 17. She is one of the principal authors of the No Child Left Behind Act. She would replace Paige as Education Secretary. Then on November 29, Carlos Gutierrez, the CEO at Kellogg since 1999, was picked to be the new Commerce Secretary, replacing Donald Evans. Cuban-born, Gutierrez began at Kellogg selling cereal out of a van in Mexico City. Now an American citizen, Gutierrez would be taking a $199,825,000 pay cut at the new position. Bush called Gutierrez "One of America's most respected business leaders. He is a great American success story." Republican Governor Mike Johanns of Nebraska was nominated by Bush on December 2 to replace outgoing United States Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman. There had been some speculation that Bush would tap Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, also of Nebraska, to fill the post. Nelson reportedly turned down Bush's offer, choosing instead to remain in the Senate. It is worth noting that had Nelson accepted Bush's offer, the Democratic Party would likely have lost a seat in the Senate, as Nelson's replacement would have been nominated by Governor Johanns, and would have been a Republican. On December 9, Bush named Jim Nicholson, U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, as his nominee for Veterans Affairs Secretary. Sam Bodman, Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, was nominated December 10 by the president to become the new Secretary of Energy. Michael O. Leavitt, the current Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency was nominated the same day to succeed Tommy Thompson as Secretary of Health and Human Services. On December 2, 2004, Bernard Kerik was nominated by Bush as the next Homeland Security secretary. However, on December 10, after a week of press scrutiny, Kerik withdrew acceptance of the nomination citing personal reasons and a potential controversy over the immigration status of a nanny and housekeeper he had employed. In a situation reminiscent of the Nannygate matter of 1993, Kerik had failed to pay taxes for the worker,