Resignation was due to changed political scene-Rumsfeld

WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) Outgoing US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he had decided to resign partly because of the changed political environment after Tuesday's congressional elections.

''It'll be a different Congress, a different environment, moving towards a presidential election, and a lot of partisanship and it struck me that this would be a good thing for everybody,'' he said at the Pentagon.

His resignation was announced yesterday but President George W.

Bush told a news conference that he had been discussing the possibility of Rumsfeld being replaced before Tuesday's voting.

REUTERS DH BST0444