Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Colin Powell resigned as U.S. secretary of state and Spencer Abraham is stepping down as energy secretary, Bush administration officials said.

The administration will announce as many as four cabinet resignations today, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said. He declined to confirm the names of secretaries who will be leaving.

``I do expect some announcements shortly regarding some members of the cabinet,'' McClellan told reporters at a White House briefing. ``I'm not ready to get into that right now.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Paul Basken in Washington at pbasken@bloomberg.net and Jim Efstathiou Jr. in Washington at jefstathiou@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 15, 2004 10:02 EST