Bush aide Karen Hughes to leave White House

Hughes has worked for President Bush since his 1994 campaign for Texas governor.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House counselor Karen Hughes said Tuesday the needs of her family and the pull of Texas were behind the "difficult decision" to leave her power job in the West Wing -- which she called "the thrill of a lifetime" -- and return to her home state this summer.

However, in an interview with CNN's Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff, Hughes insisted that even though she is leaving Washington, she will continue to work on President Bush's behalf, helping him with major speeches and being a "phone call away" when he needs advice.

"When I talked to him about moving home to Texas, he said, 'Well, as long as I can still have your advice and counsel and rely on your judgment. I want you still involved,'" she said. "I want to be involved, and I plan to continue to be involved."

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Hughes -- called by one top White House aide "the most influential person" in Bush's political life -- announced her departure Tuesday, effective this summer. She is the first member of the president's inner circle to leave the White House team.

Hughes said the details of her new role have yet to be ironed out, but she said she expects to travel back to Washington "every couple of weeks." She said she will not be a government employee.

Some former White House aides have been paid as consultants, either by national party committees or by the president's political committees. Associates said Hughes also anticipated making media and other appearances on behalf of the president.

A former television reporter and executive director of the Texas Republican Party, Hughes has worked for Bush since his first campaign for governor in 1994. She was communications director during both his tenure as governor and his 2000 campaign, and was named White House counselor after Bush was elected.

Hughes and political adviser Karl Rove are considered to be Bush's closest and most influential confidants. Her trademark line is that she has worked with Bush so long she can finish his sentences, and she said the president jokes that she was at his side "when the motorcade was one car."

But after a year and a half in Washington, Hughes described her family as "a little homesick." She said she and her husband decided they wanted their son, who is about to enter high school, "to feel rooted in Texas," where her daughter and granddaughter also live.

"The president always says if you're a mom or a dad, your most important responsibility in life is to be a good mom or dad, and I believe that," she said.

Bush, speaking to reporters after a meeting with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, hailed her decision to put the needs of her family first and said Hughes "will still be in my inner circle."

"She had put her family ahead of her service to my government, and I am extremely grateful for that approach and that priority," he said. "I value her advice, I have her advice. And I value her friendship, and I will have her friendship."

"I'm going to miss her," said White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who was recruited to the 2000 Bush campaign by Hughes. "I think everybody in this White House is going to miss her and miss her a lot. She is very, very good at what she does."

Hughes had been discussing leaving for several months. She said a recent trip to Texas, when British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Bush's ranch in Crawford, helped crystallize her decision.

"I drove to Austin to see one of my best friends' son play soccer, and I realized I was missing a lot. I was missing the opportunity to see my friends' children grow up, to have my son go to his friends' homes and be involved with their parents," she said.

The announcement was made now because of a May 1 deadline to let her son's school know whether he would be re-enrolling in the fall. She met with Bush and first lady Laura Bush last week and described them as "wonderfully supportive."

Her top White House deputy, Dan Bartlett, who not long ago was elevated to the post of communications director, has assumed more responsibilities in recent months for planning and executing the White House communications strategy.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King contributed to this report.