WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The White House said Thursday the head of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has been promoted to assistant to the president.
"Jim Towey is helping to empower the armies of compassion in America to solve some of our Nation's most pressing problems. He is a tireless servant for those in need, and I look forward to his continued counsel in a second term," President Bush said in a statement.
In 2002, Towney was named director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. At the time, he held the rank of deputy assistant to the president.
A former senior advisor to U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., and Florida Democrat Governor Lawton Chiles, Towney met Mother Teresa while visiting her home for the dying in during a 1993 visit to Calcutta, India. He went on to serve as legal counsel to her for 12 years.
