Cabinet officials, relatives top Camp David guest list

WASHINGTON -- President Bush and first lady Laura Bush have played host to more than 240 guests at Camp David since moving to Washington, inviting a range of friends, family, Republican donors and Cabinet members to stay with them at the presidential retreat.

The long guest list reflects the camp's popularity with the Bushes. When in Washington, the president spends almost every weekend at the retreat, located in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland about 60 miles from the White House.

"The president and Mrs. Bush enjoy spending time with their family and friends, and they find Camp David to be a welcoming place to spend a weekend with some of the people they have known best throughout the years," White House spokeswoman Ashley Snee said.

Aside from professional golfer Ben Crenshaw, the biggest celebrities on the Bushes' Camp David guest list are the political kind, mirroring a list of White House overnight guests the administration released last summer.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar are among world leaders to stay at Camp David with the Bushes. Former President George Bush, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and other presidential relatives are also on the list.

President Bush's guests also include about a half-dozen of his volunteer campaign fund-raisers, known as the "pioneers."

The guest list also features a who's-who of administration officials.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, CIA Director George Tenet, Commerce Secretary Donald Evans and then-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill have all spent the night in the retreat's cabins.

Several top congressional Republicans also have been guests. They include new Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, former chairman of the fund-raising National Republican Senatorial Committee; former Senate GOP leader Trent Lott of Mississippi; House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois; and Virginia Rep. Tom Davis, former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

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