Bush makes Bolten new Chief of Staff

Bolten, 51, will be one of the highest ranking Jews in Bush administration.

By NATHAN GUTTMAN
bolten, josh 298.88 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
bolten, josh 298.88 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
US President George Bush has nominated Joshua Bolten to be his new Chief of Staff, following the resignation of Andrew Card. Bolten, 51, will be one of the highest ranking Jews in the Bush administration and will now be in charge of managing the White House's policy and the president's schedule. President Bush announced Bolten's nomination early Tuesday in the Oval Office, flanked by Card and Bolten. "He is a man of candor and humor and directness, who is comfortable with responsibility and knows how to lead," Bush said if his new Chief of Staff, adding that "Josh is a creative policy thinker." Joshua Bolten has been with the Bush administration from its first days. He has served as the deputy Chief of Staff and in 2003 was promoted to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where he oversaw the government expenditure and led two consecutive cuts in the domestic budget, while raising the defense budget due to the war in Iraq. At the short White House ceremony Bolten said he is "deeply honored" by the opportunity to succeed Andrew Card. Bolten is highly appreciated in Washington for his deep knowledge of government affairs and for the long hours he puts into his job. A son of a CIA official, Bolten grew up in a Washington Jewish family and graduated Princeton and Stanford. Before joining the White House he held an executive post with Goldman Sachs investment firm. Bolten is the highest-ranking Jewish staff member in Bush's White House since the departure of spokesman Ari Fleischer before the 2004 elections. He is one of two Jewish cabinet members, with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. The resignation of Andrew Card came as President Bush is experiencing an all time low in his public support, with his approval ratings plunging to 37 percent. Many Republicans have called for a White House reshuffle in order to reinvigorate Bush's team and gain support for the President's policies. Card, 58, has been Chief of Staff since Bush entered the White House and after five and a half years at the job, he is one longest serving Chief of Staff in American history. His resignation is seen as an attempt by the administration to show it is attentive to the calls for change and to bring in new blood to the White House. The main Republican concern is that the declining public support for Bush will hurt the party's' candidates in the 2006 mid-term elections.