Bush names a Congress-friendly budget boss

WASHINGTON — President Bush shuffled part of the White House economic team Tuesday, naming his chief trade negotiator to be his budget director and appointing a new person to lead the nation's trade negotiations.

If he is confirmed by the Senate, as expected, Rob Portman, a former Republican member of Congress from Cincinnati and a close ally of House GOP leaders, will serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The budget job became vacant this week when Joshua Bolten stepped into his new job as White House chief of staff.

Portman's job as U.S. trade representative will be filled by his deputy, Susan Schwab, 51.

Trade analysts said the departure of Portman from the trade office, just as international negotiations aimed at liberalizing trade rules were nearing their climax, suggested the administration had given up on the talks.

In another White House staff change, Jim Towey, director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, said he would leave by June 2 to become president of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.

Bush, announcing the changes during a Rose Garden ceremony, made clear that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's job was safe, despite calls for Rumsfeld's resignation.

"I hear the voices and I read the front page and I know the speculation," the president said testily. "But I'm the decider and I decide what's best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."

Rumsfeld, at a Pentagon news conference later, said he hasn't considered resigning. "The president knows, as I know, there are no indispensable men ... He knows that I serve at his pleasure, and that's that."

White House advisers said Bush picked Portman for the OMB job in part to send a clear signal that he is serious about working more cooperatively with disgruntled Republican lawmakers.

"We finally have one of our own in the Bush inner circle," said Kyle Downey, spokesman for Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

Conservative values

Portman, 50, portrayed himself as a deficit hawk who at the same time favored Bush's tax cuts, which he had supported as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee during Bush's first term.

"Among the main reasons I ran for Congress back in 1993 was to cut the federal deficit ... The common-sense, fiscally conservative values of southwest Ohio guided me then, and they guide me now," Portman said at the White House ceremony.

He promised to work with lawmakers of both parties to pare government spending that does not serve "our national priorities." In particular, he said he would seek to wean members of Congress from "earmarking" millions of dollars to pay for pet projects in their districts.

Portman cut his political teeth as a New Hampshire advance man on the 1980 presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush. More recently, as a six-term congressman from Cincinnati, he was one of President George W. Bush's go-to guys on Capitol Hill, where he also had a reputation for working well with Democrats.

Now, after a challenging year as trade representative, Portman is moving closer to the center of power.

Republicans in Congress were uniform in praising Bush's choice of Portman to head the budget office. House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois said: "Republicans in Congress look forward to continuing to work closely with [Portman] to strengthen the growing economy, keep a tight rein on federal spending and reform entitlement programs."

Some Democrats praised Portman. Rep. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, who successfully co-sponsored a pension bill with Portman in 2000, called him "an excellent choice" who "understands the importance of bipartisanship."

A more sour note came from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who noted that Portman had presided over record U.S. trade deficits and would inherit record budget deficits.

Trade talks dead?

Bush credited Portman, his trade representative for the past 11 months, with breathing new life into the so-called Doha round of international trade negotiations.

He indicated Schwab's elevation to chief trade negotiator would maintain continuity at the trade representative's office.

Outside analysts, however, said the switch spelled doom for the troubled trade talks, which are hung up over wealthy countries' insistence that they maintain their agricultural subsidies.

In addition, some analysts said other countries may be reluctant to make concessions in the talks, believing Schwab will have a tougher time selling a deal to Congress than Portman.

"The problem is that she does not have the profile that Portman does, and I am afraid that will be read abroad as a downgrading of the trade portfolio," said Gary Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Institute for International Economics, a think tank.

Steven Clemons, executive vice president of the New America Foundation, said Portman's move showed that the administration was focusing on domestic budget issues and not trade.

"It signals the [Doha] round is dead," Clemons said. "No one is investing any political capital in it ... It's just a sign that trade is not going to be a front-burner item."

Material from The Associated Press and Washington Post is included in this report.