White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan resigned on Wednesday and Karl Rove will give up his policy role to focus on political strategy at a White House in the midst of a shake-up.
“The White House is going through a period of transition,” McClellan said as he stood next to President Bush on the South Lawn. “I am ready to move on.”
Freshly minted White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten had already offered McClellan’s job to Fox News Channel anchor Tony Snow, who has not yet decided whether to accept. Also being considered are Victoria Clark, a former Pentagon spokeswoman, and Dan Senor, a spokesman for the former Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
McClellan became press secretary in July 2003, succeeding Ari Fleischer, the president’s first spokesman. Though he was well-liked by the White House press corps, his refusal to deviate from the administration’s talking points often exasperated reporters.
“I have given it my all, sir, and I’ve given you my all,” he said. “And I will continue to do so as we transition to a new press secretary over the next two to three weeks.”
Bush acknowledged the difficulties faced by his spokesman.
“His is a challenging assignment dealing with you all on a regular basis,” Bush told reporters. “I thought he handled his assignment with class, integrity.”
Noting McClellan’s Texas roots, Bush added: “One of these days he and I are going to be rocking on chairs in Texas, talking about the good old days and his time as the press secretary.”
Meanwhile, Rove is set to relinquish his title as deputy chief of staff, a job he has held since February 2005, according to administration officials. That means he will forgo oversight of policy development in order to concentrate on his other job — chief political strategist — in advance of November’s midterm elections.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Rove had suffered a “demotion.”
“After having his hand in nearly every bad Bush policy decision and nearly every scandal that has consumed the Bush White House, it is not surprising that Karl Rove was demoted,” he said.
“But, a demotion is not enough,” he added. “The president has abundant reason to fire Karl Rove.”
Joel Kaplan, deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, will take over Rove’s policy duties and assume the title of deputy chief of staff.
