On his first day on the job, Josh Bolten, the new White House chief of staff, signaled that fairly significant staff changes are on the way. Today, we saw the president introduce the latest not-so-fresh face.
President Bush today selected U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to be the new director of the Office of Management and Budget, moving quickly to revamp his team now that his new chief of staff is in place.
Portman, subject to Senate confirmation, will replace Joshua B. Bolten, who started his new post as White House chief of staff on Friday afternoon and used his first full day on the job Monday to signal plans for a broader shakeup of the president’s politically wounded operation.
Portman, who spent 12 years representing Ohio in the House and served in the Republican leadership before Bush appointed him to the trade post last year, will be a popular choice on Capitol Hill, administration officials predicted. Bush, at a morning announcement at the White House, said Portman would “have a leading role on my economic team.”
First, this move is entirely consistent with all of the other recent “changes” within the administration. Bush has replaced one long-time Bush ally, loyal to the same ol’ agenda, with another. Replacing Josh Bolten with Rob Portman is not unlike replacing Andy Card with Josh Bolten. We’re dealing with the same small circle of people Bush likes and his comfortable with — and who won’t do anything drastic to shake up the status quo. (Indeed, Portman was immediately replaced as Trade Rep. with Susan Schwab, who used to work for first President Bush.)
Second, Portman, as the Trade Representative, has been about as effective as his administration colleagues. After less than a year on the job, Portman saw the U.S. trade deficit grow considerably, reaching over $720 billion last year, the largest ever.
And third, the choice could have been worse; Bush could have picked Tom DeLay.
The next question, of course, is who’s next.
Jim Towey, head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives also announced that he’s stepping down today, though it’s unclear who’ll replace him. Treasury Secretary John Snow has had one foot out the door for over a year, but no official word yet. Scott McClellan is still rumored to be on the chopping block, and he told reporters yesterday, “Two years in this position is a long time; I’m very mindful of that.”
But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, apparently, is not going anywhere. At a brief White House event this morning, Bush was adamant.
“I hear the voices, and I read the front page and I know the speculation,” the president said. “But I’m the decider, and I decide what’s best. And what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.”
“What’s best” for whom? Bush didn’t say.