Dear Dean:
I have your letter and it is with the deepest regret that I accept your resignation as Counsellor to the President, effective December 31, 1974, as you requested.
For more than five years, you have served our Nation, first as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and then here at the White House. In each of your responsibilities, we have come to expect of you not only great dedication and energy, but also an unfailing sense of the needs and well-being of all our people. Needless to say, your services will be greatly missed.
I welcome this opportunity to also express my own personal appreciation for the unhesitating and skillful assistance you have rendered to my Administration these past four months. In particular, I am grateful for your help during those early, critically important days following my assumption to the Presidency when I could with confidence call upon your good counsel as well as your leadership.
Also, I deeply appreciate your very kind comments and good wishes in your letter. In turn, you can be sure that Betty and I extend our warmest best wishes for every happiness and success in the future to you and your family.
Sincerely,
JERRY FORD
[The Honorable Dean Burch, The White House, Washington, D.C.]
Note: The President's letter, dated November 30, 1974, was released December 2. Mr. Burch's letter of resignation, dated November 29 and released with the President's letter, read as follows:
Dear Mr. President:
For more than five years, it has been my pleasure to serve in the government, both at the Federal Communications Commission and here' at the White House. These have been momentous years for me, at once satisfying, frustrating, rewarding and painful.
It is now time for me to return to the private sector to carry out my non-delegable duties as a father and husband. I therefore submit my resignation effective December 31, 1974.
These past months in your administration have been truly gratifying and the courtesies you have extended will never be forgotten. You have grasped the falling standard and by generous applications of hard work, wisdom and above all, human sensitivity, have restored this country's faith in the constitutional system.
I wish for you and your lovely family all the good things which are so richly deserved.
Sincerely,
DEAN BURCH
Counsellor to the President
[The President, The White House, Washington, D.C.]
Gerald R. Ford, Letter Accepting the Resignation of Dean Burch as Counsellor to the President. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/256024