US Deputy Secretary of State may quit -officials

WASHINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) U S Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick is considering leaving his post, U S officials said today and one said a possible factor was that he was not being promoted to treasury secretary.

Newspapers reported that Zoellick was in talks about a job with Wall Street firms. Two U S officials told Reuters they understand that leaving State was under serious consideration by Zoellick, but an aide to Zoellick denied he was unhappy with the department.

In his No 2 job at the State Department, Zoellick has overseen Darfur peace negotiations for the Bush administration and played a major role in managing U S-China ties.

He was disappointed that President George W Bush has not named him to succeed Treasury Secretary John Snow, the newspaper reports said.

Snow's departure has long been rumored, but he has so far confounded expectations by hanging on to the top economic post, despite criticisms that he has been an ineffective representative of Bush's economic policies.

''There was a sense that he (Zoellick) was hanging on to see what happened with the treasury job,'' a senior administration official said.

Asked if Zoellick was leaving the State Department, White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters: ''I don't know. You'll have to ask Bob.'' The Financial Times cited sources with ties to the White House as saying Zoellick had been in talks with securities firms including Merrill Lynch&Co, while the Wall Street Journal also mentioned Goldman Sachs Group Inc..

Zoellick, an experienced government official, ran his own shop as U S trade representative, a cabinet-level position, in Bush's first administration.

Political sources have said it was hard for him to accept his second-term appointment to a No. 2 post, even though it was for a State Department job where he was given considerable independence.

A Zoellick aide said ''we're not going to comment on rumors and speculation,'' and said that Zoellick continued to work issues such as Darfur and U S-China ties.

The aide specifically denied suggestions that Zoellick was unhappy with the State Department or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

''This speculation that there was some sort of disgruntlement is absolutely untrue,'' said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Representatives for Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs each declined to comment.

REUTERS DH RN0105