Homeland Security Adviser Joins White House Exodus

The president's homeland security adviser resigned today, extending the string of high-profile White House departures. Frances Frago Townsend was in charge of the president’s counterterrorism program for 4½ years, the Washington Post reports, managing the response to the London bombing and upgrading air transportation security. No reason was given for her departure.

“We are safer today because of her leadership,” Bush said today. Rudy Giuliani first hired Townsend as a federal prosecutor; her prominent role in Janet Reno’s Justice Department led many Republicans to question her most recent appointment. But she impressed doubters by getting tough with Arab royals and skydiving with Navy SEALs. (More George W. Bush stories.)