CIA Director Porter Goss resigns

Publicly admitted feeling overwhelmed
Goss also had some public blunders. In March 2005, just before Negroponte took over, Goss told an audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that he was overwhelmed by the many duties of his job, including devoting five hours out of every day to prepare for and deliver the presidential briefings.

“The jobs I’m being asked to do, the five hats that I wear, are too much for this mortal,” Goss said. “I’m a little amazed at the workload.”

Goss has pressed for aggressive probes about leaked information.

“The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission,” he told Congress in February, adding that a federal grand jury should be impaneled to determine “who is leaking this information.”

Just two weeks ago, Goss announced the firing of a top intelligence analyst in connection with a Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a network of CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. Such dismissals are highly unusual.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., said Goss’ resignation was good news. “His management style has been wrecking the country’s most important intelligence agency,” Obey said. “I hope that whoever is selected to take his place will rebuild agency morale and competence.”

Negroponte, with the backing of the White House, raised with Goss the prospect that he should leave, and the two talked about that possibility, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide a fuller account of what happened.

Bush aides have been looking for ways to rescue his presidency from sagging poll ratings and difficulties with the Iraq war and his agenda in Congress.

Shake-up started with chief of staff
The shake-up began with the resignation of Andrew Card as chief of staff and his replacement by Joshua Bolten.

Other changes have included the replacement of press secretary Scott McClellan with Fox News commentator Tony Snow. The move means that an experienced conservative television personality, who at times has been critical of the president, is the public face of the White House.

McClellan’s last briefing at the White House was Friday. His final day isn’t until next week, but the president is traveling in Florida the first part of the week, meaning McClellan would brief from the road.

Bush political aide Karl Rove kept his deputy chief of staff title, but was stripped of day-to-day oversight of policy coordination. That job was given to Joel Kaplan, Bolten’s former No. 2 when he was budget director. Bush also named Rob Portman, a former six-term Republican congressman from Ohio who now serves as U.S. trade representative, to replace Bolten at the head of the Office of Management and Budget.

The vacant job of domestic policy adviser has not yet filled.

Other changes that have been expected included changes in the White House lobbying shop run by Candida Wolff and the expected departure of communications chief Nicolle Wallace, whose husband recently moved to New York. Officials have also done little to discourage speculation that Treasury Secretary John Snow is leaving.

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