President Taps Key Aide to Be Budget Chief

President Bush on Thursday nominated a trusted White House aide, Josh Bolten, to be his budget director -- moving to fill a key post with a domestic policy expert who has broad experience in law, finance and politics.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bolten will step down as Bush’s deputy chief of staff. His title belied his far-flung responsibilities, which have ranged from homeland security matters to trade. He also acted as a gatekeeper to the Oval Office, helping decide who visits with Bush.

Bolten, 48, would replace Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. as head of the Office of Management and Budget. Daniels is returning to his home state of Indiana, where he is expected to run for governor.

Bolten would bring to the OMB a low-key, self-effacing style -- a marked contrast to Daniels’ no-nonsense, abrasive manner that irked some lawmakers in both parties.

He would take over the budget office at a time of record federal deficits, which Bush blames largely on the economic downturn and the costs of the war on terrorism.

Government officials expect this year’s deficit to exceed $300 billion, and the shortfall looms as an issue Democrats will use against Bush in the 2004 campaign.

Bolten’s appointment comes amid a flurry of personnel changes in an administration that had had few reshufflings.

Also on Thursday, U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin -- the highest-ranking Latina in the administration -- announced her resignation, effective at the end of June.

Marin, a former mayor of Huntington Park, has been mentioned as a possible Republican contender next year against Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif).

On Monday, Press Secretary Ari Fleischer announced his resignation, effective in July. And Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman announced her resignation Wednesday, also effective this summer.

In announcing Bolten’s nomination, Bush described him as “one of my closest and most trusted advisors.”

The president added: “The Office of Management and Budget is one of the most important agencies in our government. This agency has a central responsibility for implementing the full range of this administration’s agenda -- from growing the economy and creating jobs, to ensuring a strong national defense and a secure homeland.”

Bolten told Bush that he intends to be “a tireless advocate for your agenda and a tight-fisted custodian of the people’s money.”

In his current White House job, Bolten has operated with unusual latitude, largely because Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. spends most days literally at Bush’s side. That has left to Bolten many duties traditionally performed by a chief of staff.

He played a central role in crafting the president’s tax cut agenda. On rare occasions, when senior staffers or even Cabinet officers wandered “off message,” it often was Bolten who delivered a gentle rebuke.

A native Washingtonian, Bolten served as policy director for Bush in the 2000 presidential race. He spent much of the campaign on the road, and developed an easygoing relationship with reporters. But once Bush took office, Bolten shunned the press.

Bolten is known for his love of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, one of which he shipped to Crawford, Texas, for use whenever he is part of the entourage traveling to the president’s ranch.

Bolten also takes pride in his bowling prowess, a skill he honed at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains.

Before joining the Bush campaign, Bolten served as executive director for legal and governmental affairs at Goldman Sachs International in London.

Like many other Bush aides, Bolten worked for the administration of the president’s father, serving three years as general counsel to the U.S. trade representative and a year as a White House legislative affairs aide.

Bolton also has had jobs in the State Department and on Capitol Hill.

He has ties to California: He worked for the Los Angeles-based law firm of O’Melveny & Myers and obtained his law degree from Stanford University. He was an editor of the Stanford Law Review.