WASHINGTON – Accused of being insensitive to American soldiers in Iraq and their families, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld received a fresh endorsement yesterday from President Bush, who called him “a caring fellow.”

“I have heard the anguish in his voice and seen his eyes when we talk about the danger in Iraq and the fact that youngsters are over there in harm’s way,” Mr. Bush said at a White House news conference.

Congressional criticism of Mr. Rumsfeld has increased in recent weeks, with lawmakers of both parties accusing him of appearing indifferent to soldiers’ pleas for more armored vehicles. Some have complained about his use of a mechanical device to sign condolence letters to military families whose loved ones have died in battle, rather than signing them himself.

“My goodness, that’s the least that we could expect of the secretary of defense, is having some personal attention paid by him,” Senator Hagel, a Republican of Nebraska, said Sunday. Mr. Rumsfeld said last week he will personally sign letters in the future.

Mr. Bush, who personally signs condolence letters, was asked why he was willing to overlook Mr. Rumsfeld’s failure to do the same. “I know Secretary Rumsfeld’s heart,” Mr. Bush said. “I know how much he cares for the troops,” adding that Mr. Rumsfeld and his wife visit hospitalized soldiers “all the time to provide comfort and solace.”

He said beneath Mr. Rumsfeld’s “rough and gruff, no-nonsense demeanor is a good human being who cares deeply about the military and deeply about the grief that war causes.”

Mr. Rumsfeld’s tough demeanor made him hugely popular after the September 11, 2001, attacks and during the military campaigns to topple the Taliban government in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq.

But the substance of Mr. Rumsfeld’s performance also has come in for severe criticism.

Many say false prewar assumptions about Iraq and a lack of planning for postwar operations led to the problems seen in Iraq today. As casualties mounted in Iraq, some lawmakers viewed Mr. Rumsfeld as arrogantly dismissive of their concerns that the Pentagon wasn’t providing enough troops to stop the growing insurgency. Some Democrats called for his resignation after revelations of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners created an international furor.

In recent weeks, several Senate Republicans have questioned whether Mr. Rumsfeld should resign. But powerful senators, including Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Republican of Tennessee, and Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Republican of Virginia, say Mr. Rumsfeld should stay.

The committee’s top Democrat, Senator Levin of Michigan, has declined to call for Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation, blaming Mr. Bush’s war policies for problems in Iraq.