Shuffles

THE CABINET

No sooner had Lyndon Johnson succeeded to the presidency than speculation started about what changes he would make in the Kennedy Cabinet; so far he has made none, the only departure being that of Bobby Kennedy, who resigned from the Justice Department to run for Senator in New York.

Last week, in the wake of Lyndon's election, the speculation inevitably was revived. But it remains unlikely that there will be wholesale changes in the near future.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara was a storm center during the campaign, but he is a take-charge man after Johnson's own heart, has mastered the Pentagon bureaucracy as has no Defense Secretary before him, and of all the Cabinet officers probably stands highest with the President. Secretary of State Dean Rusk has made soft sounds about leaving for financial reasons, but the President likes him and he will probably stay on for a while.

Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon, the Cabinet's only Republican, also has talked about leaving Washington, but it probably won't happen soon. Moving up in Johnson's esteem is Labor Secretary Willard Wirtz, who pitched in to help write Lyndon's "prosperity" speeches during the campaign. Similarly Commerce Secretary Luther Hodges campaigned for Johnson in North Carolina, where he used to be Governor, and can probably stay on for as long as he likes.

On the other hand, Agriculture Secretary Orville Freeman has long since wearied of his frustrating job, and will presumably be replaced. To promote and administer his antipoverty, medicare and aid-to-education programs, Johnson may want someone of higher caliber than Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Anthony Celebrezze. Interior Secretary Stewart Udall all too enthusiastically supported Kennedy for President against Johnson in 1960, and may soon be taking leave of his department. Postmaster General John Gronouski was strictly a Kennedy political appointee; Johnson will probably make his own political appointment.

That still leaves the Attorney General's job open. If Johnson does not name Acting Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, a Bobby protege, to the permanent job, the most likely man is Houston Lawyer Leon Jaworski, 59, a longtime Lyndon pal.

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