New top White House aide hints at shakeup

Newly installed White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten on Monday indicated those staffers planning to depart the White House before the end of the year should resign as soon as possible, hinting at a shakeup but also offering a potential face saver for those whose heads may be on the chopping block.

Bolten, who assumed his new post late Friday following the departure of former Chief of Staff Andrew Card, made his request for early resignations at the daily White House senior staff meeting. The White House took the unusual step of publicizing its chief of staff's comments at the normally tightly held session, announcing the remarks via White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.

"Any time you have a new chief of staff coming in, you can expect that there will be some changes in some of the structure and personnel," McClellan said. McClellan said Bolten indicated he was trying to "re-energize" and "refresh" the operation.

As paraphrased by McClellan, Bolten told the senior staff, "Look, we're in a transitional period, and I want to make sure I have a team in place that is with us for, at a minimum, the remainder of this year, and to some extent beyond that." Bolten said "if you're thinking about leaving sometime in the near future, now would be a good time to do it."

McClellan indicated that, although Bolten was speaking to White House aides, the advice extends to Cabinet officials. McClellan said the remarks would be "passed on to others as well" and that Bolten is empowered by Bush to "do what he needs to do."

The futures of several senior administration officials have been at the center of speculation, particularly Treasury Secretary John Snow, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and McClellan himself. McClellan declined to discuss specifically whether he would remain in place, saying he does not speculate on personnel matters.

But he added, "two years in this position is a long time, I'm very mindful of that." McClellan said Bolten is also set to tinker with the processes at the White House, saying that the existing schedule and roster of daily meetings is only safe for the next seven to 10 days.