Fox News commentator Tony Snow has accepted the position of press secretary to President Bush, replacing the outgoing Scott McClellan, the cable network confirmed this evening.

The announcement came at the start of tonight's "Hannity & Colmes" program, as co-host Alan Colmes stated the 49-year-old Snow would be joining the White House staff after several days of considering the offer.

The Washington Post reports Snow accepted the job after being assured by top officials that "he would be not just a spokesman but an active participant in administration policy debates."

Snow, a former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush, is the first Washington pundit to become the White House's top media voice, though others, including Clinton press secretary George Stephanopoulos, have become pundits after holding the communications position.

"President Bush hates responding to the press, hates responding to political enemies – he thinks it's beneath him," Snow said on Fox News in March, reports the Post. "He's got a stubborn streak."

He said at the time Bush needed "a series of vigorous defenses" of his position.