Communications Director Howard Wolfson will be in charge of Hillary Clinton's campaign strategy now that the Democratic presidential candidate has booted her top strategist because he worked on behalf of a trade agreement Clinton opposes.

Developing the message alongside Wolfson will be pollster Geoff Garin, campaign manager Maggie Williams announced late Sunday after Mark Penn resigned from the campaign.

Click here to read Major Garrett's analysis of the decision to fire Penn.

Penn, who had already caused ample frustration among other campaign officials over his decision to stress Clinton's inevitability over her ability to get results, quit after the campaign expressed dismay at his meetings with the Colombian government over promotion of a U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Penn heads PR firm Burson-Marsteller, which was hired by Colombia to promote the deal. Clinton says she adamantly opposes the deal -- hated by labor groups and blamed by Democrats for U.S. job losses -- because of the country’s history of violence against union members. The campaign apparently decided he couldn't work both angles.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report Friday that Penn met with Colombian officials last Monday to help craft strategy to move the Colombian free trade agreement through Congress. His firm was paid $300,000 last year to help win passage of the trade deal, which President Bush announced Monday would be sent shortly to Congress for final passage. The contract also aimed to make sure Congress continued to fund Colombia's $5 billion anti-narcotics program.

Penn issued a statement apologizing for the meeting, calling it an "error in judgment," but the meeting angered both Hillary and Bill Clinton, according to aides, and Penn was quickly pushed to leave.

The apology also angered the Colombian government, which announced Saturday it had fired Burson-Marsteller, saying Penn's apology conveyed a "lack of respect" for the country.

A Bush administration official said she doesn't think Penn's dual roles will affect passage of the legislation.

"We've had no interaction with him. I don't think it makes a difference. The keyis whether members of Congress are going to vote their conscience and vote on the merits of this free trade agreement," said U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

Penn will continue "to provide polling and advice to the campaign," according to Williams, but his departure from the top could breathe life into Clinton's faltering campaign. Penn was known to get into angry shouting matches with other members of Clinton's team, including longtime adviser Harold Ickes and media strategist Mandy Grunwald, who often disagreed with his strategic advice and resented his unchecked authority to design the candidate's message.Penn's departure comes as Clinton, considered the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination last year, trails Barack Obama in delegates and the popular vote with a must-win primary in Pennsylvania April 22 and nine other contests remaining.

Clinton almost certainly will end the primary season narrowly behind Obama in the popular vote and pledged delegates unless the nullified primaries in Florida and Michigan are counted -- a scenario that seems remote. Her challenge will be to persuade some the remaining uncommitted superdelegates to back her despite the numbers.

Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, who had been a spokesman in John Edwards' campaign, said Penn's departure was needed.

"The worst kept secret in the whole Democratic race was that Penn's campaign strategy was not working and that the Clinton campaign has unfortunately paid the price," Kofinis said. "The truth is this the best move the Clinton campaign could have made and something that I imagine most Clinton supporters wished had happened months ago."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.