Secretary of Defense steps down

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down Wednesday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses.\nPresident Bush said he would nominate Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.\nAsked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said: "Well, there's certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon."\nBush lavished praise on Rumsfeld, who has spent six stormy years at his post. The president disclosed he met with Gates Sunday, two days before the elections in which Democrats swept to control of the House and possibly the Senate.\nLast week, as he campaigned to save the Republican majority, Bush declared that Rumsfeld would remain at the Pentagon through the end of his term.\nRumsfeld, 74, was in his second tour of duty as defense chief. He first held the job a generation ago, when he was appointed by President Gerald Ford.\nWhatever confidence Bush retained in Rumsfeld, the Cabinet officer's support in Congress had eroded significantly. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the House speaker-in-waiting, said at her first postelection news conference that Bush should replace the top civilian leadership at the Pentagon.\nSenate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who had intervened in the past to shore up Rumsfeld, issued a statement saying: "Washington must now work together in a bipartisan way -- Republicans and Democrats -- to outline the path to success in Iraq"