Washington: White House chief of staff Andrew Card has resigned and will be replaced by Budget chief Joshua Bolten, US President George W Bush said on Tuesday.
Bush has come under intense pressure in recent weeks from within his own Republican Party to shake up his White House staff amid a sharp slump in his personal approval ratings.
"Earlier this month, Andy Card came to me and raised the possibility of stepping down as chief of staff," Bush said at the Oval Office.
"After five and a half years, he thought it might be time to return to private life. This past weekend, I accepted Andy's resignation," Bush said, with Card and Bolten at his side.
Card, 58, has held the key position since the start of Bush's first term in January 2001, effectively acting as the president's personal gatekeeper and coordinator.
But Bush's ratings have tumbled over concerns about his Iraq policy, a perceived lackluster response to Hurricane Katrina, and in the wake of a White House scandal over the leaking of a CIA agent's identity to the media.
A longtime Republican stalwart and Bush family loyalist, Card served as a deputy chief of staff and also as the US secretary of transportation under the administration of the elder President George Bush.
Card also served as a special White House assistant during Ronald Reagan's administration.
Bolten, 50, has served as director of the Office of Management and Budget since June 2003. Prior to that, he served as deputy chief of staff for policy at the White House from January 2001 to June 2003.
Bolten, a Princeton graduate, is another Republican loyalist who also served in the administration of the elder President George Bush.
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