Saturday, June 02, 2007

White House inner circle loses key aide

White House inner circle loses key aide
By Andrew Ward in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: June 1 2007 21:15 | Last updated: June 2 2007 00:40


President George W. Bush lost one of his closest advisers on Friday when Dan Bartlett, the White House counsellor, announced his resignation.

As the president’s longest-serving aide, Mr Bartlett was one of the few remaining members of the close-knit group of Texan advisers that once formed the heart of the Bush administration. He is the latest in a series of high-level departures from the administration over the past 14 months as Mr Bush’s second-term agenda has slowed to a crawl amid turmoil in Iraq and the Democratic takeover of Capitol Hill.

The 36-year-old, who has served Mr Bush since his first run for governor of Texas in 1994, said he was leaving to spend more time with his family. “I’ve had competing families,” he said. “And, unfortunately, the Bush family has prevailed too many times and it’s high time for the Bartlett family to finally prevail.”

Mr Bush said he would miss Mr Bartlett “very much” and described his contribution to the administration as “immeasurable.”

Of the so-called ‘Texas mafia” that accompanied Mr Bush to the White House in 2001, only Karl Rove, his chief political adviser, and Alberto Gonzales, attorney-general, will remain after Mr Bartlett’s exit next month.

Mr Gonzales, who was Mr Bush’s general counsel as Texas governor, is at the centre of a political storm over the firing of several US prosecutors, throwing his future into doubt. Other Texan allies that left the administration include Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel and failed Supreme Court nominee, and Scott McClellan, the former press secretary.

Mr Bartlett is the most senior member of Mr Bush’s inner circle to leave since Andrew Card, the former chief of staff, stepped down last year as part of a White House reshuffle intended to inject fresh energy.

Instead, Mr Bush’s app roval rating has continued to slide and policy achievements have been few.

Donald Rumsfeld, the def ence secretary, resigned following the midterm election defeat in November and several junior officials have left in recent weeks, including J.D. Crouch, deputy head of the National Security Council. Mr Bush has had difficulty filling vacancies, stren g thening the impression he is becoming a lame duck 18 months before leaving office.

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