Dimming Watt

Intense pressure to quit

After James Watt took off last week on what his aides insisted was a "long-scheduled" vacation in California, Washington buzzed with this question: Would he ever return as Secretary of the Interior? The answer from Ronald Reagan's White House staff: Probably. But whether it would be for more than a few days was another matter.

Ever since his flippant remark three weeks ago about the presence of "a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple" (see ESSAY) on his coal-leasing commission, Watt's chances of staying in office have ebbed almost daily. The Secretary long ago alienated the left and center with his policy of opening vast tracts of Government-owned land to commercial exploitation. Now the Republican right fears that he will be a 1984 campaign liability to G.O.P candidates.

Democrats last week introduced a "sense of the Senate" resolution, to be taken up next week, demanding Watt's ouster. Republican Senators met for their regular weekly lunch and concluded that they, too, wanted Watt out. It had been thought that dismissing Watt would anger Western conservatives, an important constituency for Reagan. But at the lunch, one Western Senator after another reported that the Interior Secretary had lost his popularity among their constituents, and that appeared to decide the matter. Said one Republican later: "He's gone."

In a Senate speech, the G.O.P.'s Slade Gorton of Washington put some of his colleagues' thinking on the record. Gorton called Watt "a failure on his own terms, a destructively divisive force in American society, an albatross around the neck of his own President." The message got through to Watt. After the Republican lunch, Alan Simpson of Wyoming, a close friend of the Interior Secretary's, discussed with Watt what the Senators had said. Simpson quoted Watt as asserting, "I can't believe the viciousness of their remarks."

As late as the end of September, White House aides were predicting that Watt would ride out the storm, then quietly resign in early 1984. Now they doubt he will last the month. Reagan is exceedingly reluctant to fire Watt under pressure. The President remarked last week that the Secretary had "done a fine job" and did not deserve to be ousted for "a stupid remark." White House Spokesman Larry Speakes said that Reagan would not feel bound by a Senate vote on whether Watt should go, however it might come out.

Watt said nothing, but Reagan's aides believe he will resign rather than face Senate condemnation, and they would like to delay the vote in order to permit additional time for a more graceful exit. Watt is said to have given his top aides at Interior the green light to look for new jobs. Indeed, presidential aides are already speculating about a new job for Watt on Reagan's re-election committee.

The Washington rumor mill turned late last week to churning out names of possible successors to Watt as Secretary of the Interior. The front runner appeared to be former Republican Senator Clifford Hansen of Wyoming, who was actually Reagan's first choice, before Watt, three years ago. Hansen's appointment would fulfill an important Administration goal: assuring Watt's admirers on the Republican right that his replacement would also be a conservative Western voice in the Cabinet. Hansen turned down the job in late 1980, however, because of conflict-of-interest problems. Other names that came up included former New York Senator James Buckley, who has impeccable conservative credentials but suffers the liability of not being a Westerner, and Joseph Jacob Simmons III, a black Democrat who is part Indian and philosophically compatible enough with Watt to serve as his current chief deputy.

Even if Watt should defy the odds--and the Senate--and hold on, his ability to put his policies into effect seems at an end. Two weeks ago, for example, Senate-House conferees approved a bill to ban underwater oil drilling on key areas of the continental shelf that Watt wants to open for leasing.

To one senior Administration official, Watt's departure would be no surprise. This insider had predicted that the Interior Secretary would have only 15 months before his policies would arouse unbeatable opposition. Not long after that, he said, Reagan might have to dump Watt from the Cabinet as a political liability, and should do so without regret. A harsh view? Perhaps, but it was voiced some time ago by none other than James Watt. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.