White House strategist Rove resigns

WASHINGTON _ With his boss standing by his side, an emotional Karl Rove said Monday that he's stepping down as President Bush's senior political strategist, while promising Bush that he'll remain "a fierce and committed advocate on the outside."

The departure _ effective at the end of the month _ leaves Bush facing the loss of his most trusted political adviser as he heads into the final year and a half of his presidency. The two men have been friends for three decades and politically inseparable for at least 14 years.

Rove, widely credited with Bush's 2000 presidential victory and subsequent re-election, said he's leaving to spend more time with his family. But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., questioned the timing of the decision while Congress is demanding Rove's testimony in its investigation into the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.

"Now that he is leaving the White House while under subpoena, I continue to ask what Mr. Rove and others at the White House are so desperate to hide," Leahy said.

Bush and Rove appeared before reporters on the South Lawn of the White House to discuss the decision, then embraced afterward. Rove earlier announced his intentions in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

"It's been an exhilarating and eventful time," Rove told Bush. "Through it all, you've been the same man."

"Karl is moving on down the road," Bush said, calling Rove a "dear friend." The president, who leaves office in January 2009, told his longtime aide, "I'll be on the road behind you here in a little bit."

Rove's impending exit from the administration is the latest in a series of high-profile departures and a further signal that Bush's two-term presidency is winding down amid growing unpopularity over the Iraq war and other controversial policy decisions.

Like his boss, Rove has also lost much of his early first-term luster after forging a reputation as a political architect with a Midas touch, credited not only with Bush's 2000 presidential triumph but Bush's hard-fought second term re-election victory against Democrat John Kerry.

Rove was under scrutiny for months in the investigation of the leaked name of CIA officer Valerie Plame, but he was eventually cleared.

More recently, Rove and other White House officials for the past seven months have been embroiled in the controversy over the firings of the U.S. attorneys. Senate Democrats are investigating whether the firings were improperly motivated by partisan politics.

The White House has denied any wrongdoing. Rove and other White House officials have refused to testify publicly before Congress, citing executive privilege.

Separately, the independent Office of Special Counsel is investigating whether political briefings of government agencies by Rove and his staff violated or led to violations of the Hatch Act.

"The list of senior White House and Justice Department officials who have resigned during the course of these congressional investigations continues to grow, and today, Mr. Rove has added his name to that list," Leahy said. "There is a cloud over this White House, and a gathering storm."

But both Bush and Rove told reporters that the aide has been planning to leave the White House to devote more time to his family. "This is a family that has made enormous sacrifices," Bush said.

"It's not been an easy decision," Rove said, adding that the resignation discussions started last summer. "It always seemed there was a better time to leave somewhere out there in the future," Rove said, "but now is the time."

As arguably the best-known political strategist in America, Rove could easily command lucrative speaking fees on the lecture circuit and could conceivably be in play for other political races during the 2008 presidential race and beyond.

The former Austin, Texas, political consultant has known the Bush family since the 1970s and was instrumental in George W. Bush's election as Texas governor in 1994. He has been with Bush ever since, becoming an integral figure in the White House, a take-no-prisoners adviser who not only directed political strategy but also helped shape policy.

Political and governmental analysts were scrambling to gauge the impact on the administration after Rove's bombshell announcement. But the departure will likely leave a void and contribute to the image of an administration of in disarray.

Throughout Bush's second term, Rove has been at the center of every administration initiative, from immigration to Iraq. Rove also extended his reach far outside the White House, helping shape Republican strategy in national political races.

One of his biggest setbacks came in the 2006 congressional races when Democrats drove Republicans out of power in both the House and Senate. He had greater successes in earlier elections and was instrumental in helping Republicans seize control of state offices in Texas.

Rove, who has a home in Ingram, Texas, and a son attending college in San Antonio, told The Wall Street Journal that he considered leaving a year ago but delayed his departure after Democrats took over control of Congress. He decided to leave, he told the newspaper, after White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten told senior aides that any who stayed past Labor Day would be oblige to remain with the president until the completion of his term in January 2009.

"I just think it's time," Rove told the Journal. "There's always something that can keep you here, and as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of my family."