WASHINGTON — USC alumnus Andrew Card will remain White House chief of staff during President Bush’s second administration.

“The president has asked Andy Card to stay on and he has agreed to do so,” spokesman Taylor Gross said. “He continues to do an outstanding job.”

It is unclear whether Card has signed up for Bush’s entire second term. Card, 57, often has noted chiefs of staff serve an average of two years, adding he would not hesitate to leave when he felt ready to go.

Card, who graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1971, has led the White House staff since Bush was inaugurated in 2001. Compared with other high-ranking White House staff, Card has maintained a low profile. However, he famously whispered news of the 9/11 attacks to the president when he was at a Florida school.

Card is a Washington veteran, having served as secretary of Transportation under the president’s father and as a special assistant to President Reagan.

In the private sector, Card was a vice president at General Motors and chief executive of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Despite his S.C. education, Card speaks with the accent of his native Massachusetts, where he was a state representative from 1975 to 1983.

He is known to run a tight ship, trying to minimize press leaks from the White House. However, Card himself was the source of one of the administration’s worst press gaffes, telling Esquire Magazine in 2002 that the departure of adviser Karen Hughes was bad for Bush because she balanced the influence of the ideological Karl Rove, the president’s chief political adviser.

Reach Markoe at (202)383-6023 or lmarkoe@krwashington.com