Gerald Reynolds has taken office as the assistant secretary of education for civil rights, a position that oversees the enforcement of Title IX as well as a variety of civil rights legislation.

President Bush used what is known as a "recess appointment" to appoint Reynolds and four other nominees to their posts March 29, bypassing the Senate confirmation process for the time being.

Those who have been recess-appointed will hold their offices until the next session of Congress is seated in January 2003.

Reynolds must receive Senate confirmation early in 2003 to continue at the post.

An attorney at Kansas City Power & Light Co., Reynolds has been a consultant at the education department since September.

White House spokesperson Gordon Johndroe said the five nominations of those who have been recess-appointed will be pending before the Senate. He said President Bush hopes the confirmation process continues on them.

"All five are highly qualified for the positions they have been nominated for, and the president will continue to work with the Senate so that these nominees receive a hearing and can be confirmed by the Senate," Johndroe said.

The other appointments included Michael E. Toner, Bush's former campaign lawyer, to the Federal Election Commission; Dennis Schornack, an aide to Michigan Gov. John Engler, as commissioner and chairman of the International Joint Commission for the United States and Canada; Emil Frankel, a former Connecticut transportation official, as assistant secretary of Transportation; and Jeffrey Shane, a Washington, D.C., lawyer, as associate deputy secretary of Transportation.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts and chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, expressed displeasure with Reynolds' recess appointment.

"This is one more example of the administration's lack of commitment to the enforcement of our nation's civil rights laws," he said. "Gerald Reynolds' confirmation hearing raised serious doubts about his qualifications for this important post that affects civil rights of millions of Americans."

Kennedy's committee conducted a hearing in late February on Reynolds' nomination.