Mr. Romney announced plans for a new national “Coalition of Concerned Citizens” that he said would attempt to enlighten the public on “life and death issues.”  In formally announcing his resignation, Mr. Romney com plained that candidates for the Presidency were unwilling to discuss the “real issues” facing the nation because of fear that they would lose votes.  The President also said he would reluctantly respect Mr. Laird's desire to return to pri vate life after four years as Secretary of Defense. Mr. Laird's resignation had been expected, but it had not been officially acknowledged at the While House before today.  Mr. Nixon told the newsmen at Camp David, along with a larger group listening to his voice over a loudspeaker sys tem in the White House, that he had discussed possible Cabi net positions with Mr. Connally and Governor Rockefeller.  But he added that both had indicated that they would “prefer at this time not to take a full‐time Cabinet or Govern ment position.”  He said that Mr. Connally had agreed to undertake occa sional assignments in the area of international economic af fairs and that Mr. Rockefeller would continue to assist in “very intensive and very im portant research work” on ur ban policies.  Mr. Connally, who directed Democrats for Nixon during the President's successful cam paign for re‐election, and Mr. Rockefeller had each been men tioned as possible nominees for Secretary of State.  Mr. Nixon said that he want ed to remove their names from the speculation about the new Cabinet. But the capital gossip about the shape of his second Administration continued.  One senior Administration official, who asked that his iden tity not be disclosed, said that it now seemed likely that Wil liam P. Rogers would remain the Secretary of State, at least until sometime next summer.  At the same time, the official said that Kenneth Rush, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, might be nominated as Under Secretary of State.  Aside from Mr. Rogers, only two other Cabinet officers were considered likely to keep their present posts. They are George P. Shultz, the Secretary of the Treasury, and Rogers C. B. Mor ton, the Secretary of the In terior.  The most likely choice as the successor to Mr. Laird was said to be Elliot L. Richardson, the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.  By one account, a political conservative would probably be nominated as Deputy Secretary of Defense to balance the views of Mr. Richardson, a progres sive Republican from Massa chusetts.  Among those discussed as possible nominees for the num ber two position at the Penta gon were William J. Casey, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Mr. Weinberger.  Mr. Casey was said to have hoped, when he was named to head the regulatory agency last year that it would be a step ping stone toward a post in foreign or military affairs. Other informed Administra tion officials suggested that Mr. Weinberger would be a logi cal successor to Mr. Richardson at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, which the White House had identified as a prime target for major spending cuts.  Mr. Nixon was also said to have John D. Ehrlichman, the assistant to the President for domestic affairs, under consid eration as the next Director of Management and Budget.  The formal announcement of Mr. Ronmey's departure was made at the Secretary's office rather than at the White House, as had been the custom.  A Presidential spokesman attributed the departure from custom to Mr. Nixon's being at Camp David.  Mr. Romney, who said he would remain in office until his successor had been confirmed by the Senate, avoided specific discussion of his differences with the White House over such matters as his unsuccess ful attempt to win support for a combined urban‐suburban ap proach to big city problems.  Instead, he focused on his assertion that the nation needed, as he put it in his Nov. 9 letter of resignation, “a Coalition of Concerned Citi zens” dedicated to informing the electorate about “life and death issues.”  Mr. Romney declined to speculate on his successor. But Governor Rockefeller was known to have recommended Charles J. Urstadt, the New York State Commissioner of Housing and Community Re newal.  Donald Rumsfeld, the director of the Cost of Living Council, was said to be among those re luctant to fall heir to Mr. Rom ney's department.  There were reports that Sec retary of Transportation John A. Volpe had been assured of an ambassadorial nomination but probably not the post in Rome, which he was said to prefer.  In contending that politicians “tend to avoid specific posi tions” on the basic issues facing the nation “for fear of offending uninformed voters and thus los ing votes,” Mr. Romney cited all a letter that he wrote in October, 1960, to Mr. Nixon, then the Vice President, and John F. Kennedy, then the Democratic candidate for President.  The letter urged both candi dates to discuss underlying is sues, such as “excessive concen tration of union and corporate collective bargaining power” and ways to curb “the expan sion of Federal Government power.”  Asked if he believed Mr. Nixon had engaged in a discus sion of the “real issues” in the campaign this year. Mr. Rom ney said that neither Mr. Nixon nor the Democratic nominee, Senator George McGovern, had done so.  Mr. Romney conceded that as a spokesman for Mr. Nixon in the campaign he had also avoided discussion of most such issues but said that he had done so because Mr. Nixon was “ob viously” superior to Mr. McGovern.  Mr. Romney had spoken be fore of the possibility of found ing a new citizens' organization. He said today he was still con sidering whether to “start from scratch” or to join forces with existing organizations.  He also said that “what will organize is not a Re publican Common Cause.'”  Common Cause is the citizen action group led by John W. Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.  The remark prompted Mr. Gardner to issue a statement in which he said that he had had no conversations” with Mr. Romney about participating in the new coalition.  Mr. Gardner, who served in President Johnson's Cabinet, dis puted the implication, common among some supporters of Mr. Nixon, that Common Cause was partisan. He said the or ganization had sued to force both political parties to reform campaign spending practices and had filed complaints against 128 Democrats and only 98 Re publicans for alleged violations of campaign spending laws.  We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.  A version of this archives appears in print on November 28, 1972, on page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: ROMNEY AND LAIRD LEAVING AS NIXON RESHAPES CABINET. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Pres Nixon announces on Nov 27 that he has accepted resignation of HUD Dept Sec Romney, meeting with newsmen at Camp David; Romney avoids specific discussion of his differences with White House over certain matters; some possible successors noted; Romney illus