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Top Bush Aide to Step Down

Bartlett bows out after 14 years

By M. Morris, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 1, 2007 11:03 AM CDT

(Newser) – Another Bush administration official is stepping down, and this time the resignation shrinks the president's inner circle: Top aide Dan Bartlett will leave on July 4 after 14 years working for Bush. The defection is the latest in a trickle that's rapidly becoming a flood. Bartlett, 36, will seek a private-sector job and, yes, spend more time with his family.

Bartlett joked that his wife helped push the decision by suggesting they name their 4-month-old son "Exit Strategy." At least two deputy national security advisers and a top NSA analyst have resigned recently, but Bartlett is the highest-ranking official to depart since Donald Rumsfeld. His last day falls less than a week after Paul Wolfowitz leaves the World Bank.

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

White House counselor Dan Bartlett answers questions from reporters at the White House Conference Center in Washington, Friday, June 1, 2007. Bartlett, one of President Bush's most trusted advisers and... (Associated Press)

President Bush, right, walks with Dan Bartlett as they return to the White House in Washington after a meeting at the Pentagon in this May 10, 2007 file photo. Bartlett, one of President Bush's most... (Associated Press)

White House counselor Dan Bartlett pauses while answering questions from reporters at the White House Conference Center in Washington, Friday, June 1, 2007. Bartlett, one of President Bush's most trusted... (Associated Press)

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Top Bush Aide to Step Down