WASHINGTON (AP) - For years, Sen. Spencer Abraham tried to abolish the Department of Energy.
Tuesday, he accepted President-elect Bush's offer to lead it.

Abraham's nomination comes two months after an unsuccessful campaign to keep his Senate seat,
from which he sponsored as recently as 1999 legislation to dismantle the agency. During his campaign
environmentalists assailed him for his opposition to higher fuel efficiency standards and support of
increased U.S. oil drilling, criticisms repeated after Bush introduced Abraham.

The outgoing Michigan senator took the moment to say the United States has ``vast resources''
that are ``crucial to our country's security.

``We can make good use of them, while at the same time, I believe, meeting our responsibilities
as good stewards for the land, the air and the water,'' he said.

However, Mark Helm, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth, called Abraham a ``disaster,'' citing his
support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other efforts on behalf of the oil industry.

``It's incredibly important that anybody who is energy secretary not be an enemy of the environment,
and that's what this guy is,'' Helm said.

Abraham was part of a small group of Senate Republicans who in 1996 cosponsored legislation to
close the departments of Energy, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development and privatize
or assign to other departments the functions worth preserving.

``We're not saying all government is bad. We're not saying every government program is bad,''
Abraham said in a 1997 interview about the department eliminations. But ``we were elected to
make government smarter and more efficient.''

He co-sponsored legislation to eliminate the Energy Department again in 1999, when it was mired
in the controversy over security problems at its Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory.
Both times, the legislation died in committee.

Bush transition spokeswoman Angela Flood said Abraham wanted to eliminate the Energy Department
when the country's deficit was high but changed his position when energy problems became crucial in
recent months. She said his move to abolish the department did not weigh on his nomination.

``I would say he still supports streamlining and making the department more efficient, but what's
important is that he will support President-elect Bush's energy policy,'' she said.

A one-time political operative back home in Michigan, Abraham built a reputation in the Senate
as a hard worker, never missing a roll call vote in six years and passing more bills than any other
senator from his freshman class.

``He's a brilliant visionary and he knows how to manage people and that's exactly what you want
in a Cabinet official,'' said Rusty Hills, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.

But some observers felt he had a harder time connecting with the public than his more gregarious
opponent in the election, Rep. Debbie Stabenow.

``I think a lot of people were surprised when he first ran for office because he was such a
behind-the-scenes person,'' said Tom Shields, president of Lansing-based firm Marketing Resource
Group, a firm that works on Republican campaigns.

Abraham came to the Senate in 1995 with 11 freshmen who gave Republicans control of Congress
for the first time in decades. He usually voted with his party. His involvement in energy issues came
through an overall opposition to industry regulation, and he led the fight against higher fuel-efficiency
standards in the Senate.

Environmentalists say that's a sign of things to come if Abraham becomes energy secretary.

``President-elect Bush is choosing the senator who led the fight for more gas-guzzling SUVs
to go find the oil to keep them running,'' said Dan Becker of the Sierra Club.

He also has a limited Senate background in nuclear weapons issues, which accounts for a good
portion of the Energy Department's activities.

``The bottom line is he doesn't have much background in the field of energy. He's done very little
in this area. It doesn't mean he can't learn,'' said David Nemtzow, executive director of the Alliance
to Save Energy, a private advocacy group.

At the department, Abraham is likely to face some immediate concerns including high winter heating
prices, the possibility of natural gas shortages, a likely resurgence of world oil prices and a critical
decision on disposal of nuclear waste.

Environmentalists repeatedly attacked Abraham during his re-election campaign for his ties to the
oil industry. As gas prices rose in Michigan and across the Midwest this summer, Abraham called
for a suspension of federal gas taxes while taking donations from oil companies.

According to campaign finance watchdog FECInfo, Abraham took $221,848 in contributions from
energy and natural resources companies, including $10,000 each from the El Paso Energy Corp.
and the Ohio Valley Coal Co. and $9,000 each from Chevron, Coastal Corp. and Michigan Petroleum.

Abraham, 48, was born in East Lansing, Mich., the grandson of Lebanese immigrants.
He went to Michigan State University in the 1970s, where he worked on Republican campaigns.

He graduated with honors in 1979 and returned to Michigan to work at a small firm and teach at Cooley
Law School. He worked on Republican campaigns in the state and then took the job as the head of the state GOP.

He left the state party in November 1989 to become deputy chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle.
In 1992, he became co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

``You never outworked Spencer when you worked for him,'' Shields said. ``He would call you from
the movie theater because he came up with an idea during the show. He's probably one of the
brightest people I have met.''