ADMINISTRATION SHUFFLE?

Bush may call on Texas pal Evans (Stewart M. Powell, Houston Chronicle, 11/12/05)

If President Bush shakes up his White House staff to combat second-term setbacks, he may turn to trusted Texas confidante Donald Evans as his new chief of staff.

White House officials remain mum about any Bush plans for staffing changes amid political difficulties that include the war in Iraq, second-guessing on hurricane relief and an ongoing federal investigation into the role of administration officials in unmasking an undercover CIA officer. The combination of troubles has driven Bush's job approval ratings to the lowest of his presidency.

But the rumor mill is churning out speculation that Andrew Card, the White House chief of staff, would move over to the Treasury Department, replacing Treasury Secretary John Snow.

Evans, former commerce secretary in Bush's first term and the president's election campaign finance chief, would move into the White House to replace Card.

This is basically Beltway journalist gossip reported as news, but the rumor makes some sense. The President would have a loyalist as chief of staff, Card would finally catch a break from a grinding job, and Snow would finally be eased out.