The number two official at the State Department is resigning, according to an announcement today by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick served six years in the Bush administration and has decided to join the Wall Street investment house Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. He did not say why is was resigning.
CNN:
A former U.S. trade representative, Zoellick reportedly wanted to be promoted to treasury secretary to replace departing secretary John Snow, but President Bush nominated Goldman Sachs executive Henry Paulson instead.
"I'm pleased to have built a first-rate team, offer counsel on a number of initiatives and backup the secretary," Zoellick said at the news briefing. "I've accomplished what I set out to do, and it's time to step down."
Zoellick is expected to leave the State Department in July, officials said.
He has been the administration's leading diplomat handling the volatile situation in Sudan's western Darfur region, where at least 180,000 have died since 2003.
Zoellick has also been the State Department's chief diplomat dealing with China.
"Deputy Zoellick has been one of Secretary Rice's closest and most valued advisers on every single international issue," Rice senior adviser Jim Wilkinson said Monday, adding that Rice accepted the resignation reluctantly.
Zoellick told Bush of his decision in recent weeks, officials said.
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