President Bush (R) looks on  incoming White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten (L) in the White House May 22, 2005 in Washington. (Xinhua/AFP/File Photo)

    WASHINGTON, March 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush announced Tuesday that White House chief of staff Andrew Card has resigned and will be replaced by his budget director Joshua Bolten.

    Bush said Card came to him and raised the possibility of stepping down as chief of staff, and he accepted Card's resignation this past weekend.

    "After five and a half years, he thought it might be time to return to private life," Bush said at the White House's Oval Office, with both Card and Bolten at his side.

    Card, one of the longest serving White House chief of staff, was appointed by Bush as his chief of staff in November 2000.

    "I have relied on Andy's wise counsel, his calm in crisis, his absolute integrity and his tireless commitment to public service," Bush said.

    Card served as secretary of transportation under former President George H. W. Bush between 1992 and 1993, and as his assistant and deputy chief of staff from 1988 to 1992. Under Ronald Reagan's administration, Card served as the president's special assistant for intergovernmental affairs and subsequently as deputy assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs.

    Bolten served as the president's assistant and deputy chief of staff for policy between January 2001 and June 2003, and as the White House management and budget director since June 2003.

    "Josh is a creative policy thinker," Bush said of Bolten, describing him as "an expert on the budget and our economy."

    The shakeup at the White House came at a time when Bush was under intense pressure for a change to his White House staff and polls showed public approval ratings for his Iraq war policy and his job performance were at the lowest levels during his presidency. Enditem

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