President Bush called for "lean budgets" and good stewardship of Americans' money yesterday as Democrats and Republicans coalesced around the idea of a tax cut but differed over its size.
Gathering most of his cabinet at the White House for the first time since his inauguration 11 days ago, Mr Bush said he wanted to hear from his inner circle about "what may be going on", including the state of the energy crisis in California and the prospects for his $1.6 trillion tax cut.
"I am going to talk a little bit about reminding people that a dollar spent is somebody's money and that we expect there to be lean budgets, good stewards of the people's money," Mr Bush told reporters at the start of the session.
Flanked by Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, on one side of a large oval table in the White House Cabinet room, Mr Bush said: "I expect only one standard, and that's the highest of ethical standards."
Several of his cabinet choices were missing, including Attorney General designate, Mr John Ashcroft, whose controversial nomination was still being debated in the Senate yesterday; Health and Human Services Secretary, Mr Tommy Thompson, who has yet to be sworn in, and Trade Representative Mr Robert Zoellick, whose confirmation hearings began this week.
Since taking office 12 days ago, Mr Bush has pushed a number of initiatives, including controversial plans to reform education and arm religious faith-based groups on the front lines of the battle against social ills with federal funds.
His biggest battle thus far has been over his nominee to head the Justice Department, who faces a pitched battle in the full Senate after a key panel narrowly approved him on Tuesday. A vote could come as early as today.
Mr Ashcroft has run into opposition from Democrats who have questioned his commitment to civil rights, and warned that his staunch religious beliefs could impair his willingness to enforce some US laws.
A full vote could come as early as today, which would be none too soon for Mr Bush, who on Tuesday expressed mounting frustration with the slow pace.
"I hope, in the spirit of bipartisanship, there will be no further delays on the confirmation process for John Ashcroft and other nominees of ours," Mr Bush said as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepared to vote on the former senator.
Before the cabinet meeting, the White House spokesman, Mr Ari Fleischer, said Mr Bush was "going to want to set a tone for the agencies for rooting out waste, holding the line on spending increases."
"One of the things I'll be doing when our cabinet meets is talking about the need for each cabinet member to be fiscally sound with the taxpayers' money," Mr Bush said earlier this week.
"It's hard to deliver that message when somebody hasn't been confirmed."
He faced a tough audience in his effort to charm Democrats when he met the Congressional Black Caucus, many of whose members sought to challenge the result of the disputed vote in Florida.
Mr Bush also had a meeting with representatives from Catholic Charities, one of the largest private social networks in the US, in order to push forward with his plan to increase charitable donations to religious organisations.
In a report, Catholic Charities said that, despite major economic growth and welfare reform, the government still seemed unable to root out poverty effectively and called for new measures.