White House Economic Guru Stepping Down

Top White House economics adviser Al Hubbard will step down by year's end, the AP reports. Hubbard, who has expressed frustration over his inability to get Bush economic initiatives through the Democrat-controlled Congress, will be replaced by deputy Keith Hennessy. Hubbard's departure will boost the influence of less ideological, more pragmatic Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Bloomberg reports.

“Paulson’s going to call the shots now,” a business prof tells Bloomberg. "He will now become the principal architect of the Bush administration.'' Hubbard is the latest in a long line of Bush advisers to resign, the most recent being terror adviser Fran Townsend. The departure comes as the administration struggles with the continuing fallout from the subprime mortgage collapse. (More Bush administration stories.)