White House press secretary Scott McClellan, President George W Bush's chief spokesman, announced his resignation on Wednesday, amid a continuing shakeup of the president's senior advisors.
WASHINGTON: White House press secretary Scott McClellan, President George W Bush's chief spokesman, announced his resignation on Wednesday, amid a continuing shakeup of the president's senior advisors.
"I thank Scott for his service to our country," Bush told reporters outside the White House.
“It's going to be hard to replace Scott. But nevertheless he has made the decision, and I accept it,” Bush said, with McClellan at his side.
"I don't know whether or not the press corps realizes it, but his is a challenging assignment dealing with you all on a regular basis, and I thought he handled his assignment with class, integrity," the president said.
“I have given it my all, sir,” McClellan told Bush outside the White House before a group of reporters. He said he would stay on over the next two or three weeks to allow time for a transition to his successor, who has not yet been named.
McClellan, who has been in the job more than two and a half years, has been one of the most visible faces of the Bush administration and replacing him will give the president the chance to put a fresh face on his White House.
New White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, who started work at the weekend, has begun a staff shake-up to try to help Bush rebound from sagging poll numbers and bolster American confidence in his leadership.
“Change can be helpful,” McClellan said. He said he was ready to move on and suggested he would end up back in his home state of Texas before Bush gets there at the end of his term.
The president said, ''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. And I can assure you I will feel the same way then that I feel now, that I can say to Scott, job well done.''
Karl Rove, one of President Bush's most trusted political advisers, is giving up his policy role as part of the White House shake-up, administration officials said on Wednesday.
Rove has been deputy White House chief of staff for policy development and Bush's top political adviser.
His policy role will be taken over by Joel Kaplan, the deputy White House budget director, two administration officials said.
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