The nomination of Vice President Dick Cheney's son-in-law as top lawyer at the Department of Homeland Security, coupled with the appointment of Mr. Cheney's daughter to a senior State Department post, are a strain of nepotism not usually seen in American government.

The Bush administration should have paid attention to the disastrous experience of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the awarding of a big U.N. contract to a firm that employed his son Kojo. The Volcker report on the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, including the focus on Kojo's role, has led to calls for Kofi Annan's resignation.

No such luck. Last week Mr. Bush nominated Philip J. Perry, Elizabeth Cheney's husband, to be general counsel at Homeland Security. If the appointment is confirmed by the Senate, he would leave a partnership at the Los Angeles-based law firm Latham & Watkins to come to government. Among the clients his firm represents in Washington is Lockheed Martin, one of Homeland Security's top 10 contractors.

Elizabeth Cheney also feeds at the government trough. She is currently principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and coordinator for broader Middle East and North Africa initiatives. She was appointed to that post in February by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Mr. Perry's background for his nomination includes having won for Lockheed Martin and its partners hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts, including one to train airport screeners for the Transportation Security Administration. Ms. Cheney's background includes no known experience of Middle Eastern or North African affairs.

It is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Senate will reject the Perry nomination, in spite of the potential conflict of interest between his current affiliation and his future responsibilities. Which Republican senator, after all, is willing to take on Dick Cheney?

At the same time, this effort to "take care of the vice president's family" is way out of line with the concept that merit should be the principal criterion in U.S. government appointments. A lobbyist for a major Homeland Security contractor shouldn't have a friendly insider at the department, and someone with no background in the subject shouldn't be in charge of U.S. initiatives to improve relations with the Middle East and North Africa.

There is time and opportunity for the Senate to send Mr. Perry's nomination back to the White House, and that is what should occur. The United States isn't a banana republic where relatives should be piled on the payroll.