WASHINGTON, 29 March 2006 — White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card announced his resignation yesterday morning after nearly 5-1/2 years as President Bush’s top aide. Bush said Joshua B. Bolten, the Director of the Office of Management, would replace Card.
The announcement came as Republicans have become increasingly vocal that the White House has lost its political edge. They had urged the president to bring in fresh blood after a series of political missteps that have weakened the White House and sent Bush’s poll numbers plummeting to new lows. White House officials insist it was Card’s decision, and not the president’s: But the resignation marked the first major White House shakeup since Bush was re-elected.
Card is an old Washington hand and earned enormous respect within the White House and around Washington for his calm professionalism and stamina. But his leadership of the Bush team came under question in recent months after a series of mishaps, including the failed Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers, the bungled federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the slow public disclosure of Vice President Cheney’s shooting accident and the unexpected Republican revolt over a plan to turn management at a half dozen ports to an Arab-owned company.
While many of Bush’s problems are related to increasing public uneasiness over Iraq, it was Card who took the blame for the slowness of the White House staff’s response to Hurricane Katrina and criticism of the Dubai ports deal.
Critics say Card’s resignation is a mere shuffling of the cards and does not represent an infusion of new blood. Bolten is also a longtime adviser, and served under Card as his Deputy Chief of Staff before becoming budget director.
Bolton has worked on Wall Street and in Congress and brings a broad array of experience in financial and political matters, but his appointment does not signal a marked departure in White House strategy since he’s a long-time member of Bush’s inner circle. Card, meanwhile, is rumored to be angling for Treasury Secretary John Snow’s job. Before coming to the White House, Card served as Transportation Secretary under the first President Bush and was a top lobbyist for General Motors and for the American Automobile Manufacturers Association.
