Capital Briefs: Treasury Under Secretary Hawke Clinton's Choice for

President Clinton on Thursday announced that he will nominate John D. Hawke Jr. to be the 28th comptroller of the currency.

Reports that Mr. Hawke, Treasury under secretary for domestic finance since 1995, was the President's pick for the job first surfaced in January when Eugene A. Ludwig announced he would step down. Julie L. Williams has been acting comptroller since Mr. Ludwig's five-year term expired April 3.

Regarded as one the country's premier banking lawyers, Mr. Hawke was a senior partner at Arnold & Porter before joining the Treasury. He also served as general counsel to the Federal Reserve Board and as an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University.

Mr. Hawke declined to comment on the nomination.

It is unclear, whether Mr. Hawke can be confirmed before Congress adjourns in October. Though he appears to have strong support on Capitol Hill, the Senate's schedule is crowded with controversial legislation and few nominations are expected to be considered this year.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Alfonse M. D'Amato praised the nomination. "Mr. Hawke is a very competent and conscientious individual," he said in a prepared statement. "I look forward to working with him in the future."

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