Bush Dismisses Calls for White House Shake-up

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush dismissed calls for a White House shake-up and expressed confidence in his staff on Tuesday, despite a succession of troubles that have pushed his approval ratings to new lows.

Bush gave no sign of imminent changes, though he did not rule out the possibility of naming a veteran Washington hand to deal with Congress, whose relations with the White House were damaged by the now-abandoned Dubai ports deal.

But Bush flatly rejected any suggestion Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign, amid mounting criticism of the Iraq war and polls showing growing American opposition to it three years after a U.S.-led invasion.

"I’m satisfied with the people I’ve surrounded myself with," Bush told a news conference. "We’ve been a remarkably stable administration and I think that’s good for the country."

A variety of critics, including members of Bush’s own Republican Party, have called for him to bring in fresh faces to reinvigorate a White House team that has stumbled from setback to setback in his second term.

Bush’s popularity has been hit by rising fears of civil war in Iraq, bipartisan uproar over his support for an Arab-owned company’s bid to run some U.S. port operations, a bungled government response to Hurricane Katrina and economic worries.

Bush did say he had asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to find out why a fleet of trailers brought in for temporary housing after Katrina has been left parked unused in Arkansas. Some critics have called for Chertoff’s ouster, blaming him in part for the inept handling of relief efforts after the killer hurricane.

"The taxpayers aren’t interested in 11,000 trailers just sitting there. Do something with them," Bush said. "And so I share that sense of frustration when a big government is unable to, you know — it sends wrong signals to taxpayers."

Bush spoke as the latest polls show his approval ratings below 40 percent, an increasing source of concern for Republicans trying to keep control of the U.S. Congress in November’s midterm elections.

He sought to shrug off his poll numbers as he answered reporters’ questions for nearly an hour, speaking in a confident, almost folksy tone.

TONE DEAF?

Despite criticism that Bush’s White House has lost its once-vaunted political instincts, becoming tired and "tone deaf," Bush — who prizes loyalty — has resisted any major restructuring of his team led by chief of staff Andy Card.

If Card stays on until September he will be the longest-serving chief of staff ever, surpassing the record of Sherman Adams, Dwight Eisenhower’s chief of staff for five years and nine months.

Treasury Secretary John Snow has long been rumored on his way out. It has been noted in Washington that the group that approved the Dubai ports deal fell under his jurisdiction.

Calling Washington "a great town for advice," Bush brushed aside calls for a staff shake-up, though he admitted some mistakes had been made.

"We’ve dealt with war. We’ve dealt with recession. We’ve dealt with scandal. We’ve dealt with Katrina," he said. "They’ve had a lot on their plate … and they’ve got my confidence."

Bush was asked if he might bring in a seasoned veteran to fix relations with Congress after both Democrats and Republicans felt blindsided by the Dubai ports deal.

Bush said: "I’m not going to announce it right now. You know, look, they’ve got some ideas that I like and some I don’t like. Put it that way."