White House press chief resigns
Wednesday, 19 Apr 2006 17:21
White House press chief resigns
US president George W Bush's press secretary has become the second high-profile White House member of staff to announce his resignation in the past month.
Scott McLellan, who was appointed press chief shortly after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, is a staunch Bush ally who has clashed with reporters on numerous occasions, especially over the issue of Iraq.
His departure comes just three weeks after another Bush ally, chief of staff Andy Card, announced his resignation and just a day after Mr Card's successor, Josh Bolten, took over at the helm.
Announcing the news on the White House lawn this morning, President Bush paid tribute to Mr McLellan's efforts in a "challenging" role.
"I thought he handled his assignment with class, integrity," Mr Bush said.
"It's going to be hard to replace Scott, but nevertheless he made the decision and I accepted it."
He added that he would continue to count on Mr McLellan, a Texan, as a close friend.
"One of these days, he and I are going to be rocking in chairs in Texas and talking about the good old days," he added.
The US president has not yet named a successor to Mr McLellan, who will stay on as press secretary while a suitable replacement is found.
The move has been interpreted as part of a major effort to overhaul the backroom staff at the White House in a bid to freshen up the administration ahead of this autumn's mid-term elections.
US media reports suggest that key policy adviser, Karl Rove, will follow McLellan out of the Oval Office later this week.
Two unnamed administration officials told US reporters that Mr Rove, currently the deputy chief of staff for policy development, will be replaced by the deputy White House budget director, Joel Kaplan.
The Oval Office shakeup comes just a day after a new Harris Interactive opinion poll showed President Bush's approval rating slump to a new low of 35 per cent.
