Andrew Hill Card Jr. was born in 1947 in Brockton, Massachusetts. He attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy from 1966 to 1967 before earning a B.A. in engineering from the University of South Carolina in 1971.

From 1971 to 1975, Card worked as a structural design engineer while also serving in various elected and appointed offices in Holbrook, Massachusetts. In 1975, he began a seven-year stint as representative to the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; he then lost in his 1982 bid to become governor of the state.

In 1983, Card worked as vice president of CMIS Corporation before entering the administration of President Ronald Reagan as special assistant for intergovernmental affairs; Card would hold that post until 1987. From 1987 to 1988, he performed several functions for the Reagan-Bush team: serving as deputy assistant to the President and director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, sitting on the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, and managing the New Hampshire campaign for George H.W. Bush.

Starting in 1989, Card served President George H. W. Bush as deputy chief of staff, doing so until 1992, when he became secretary of transportation, a post he held until the end of the Bush administration.

From 1993 to 1998, Card served as president and chief executive officer of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association; he became vice president of government relations for General Motors in 1998 and remained in that job until 2000.

In 2001, Card became chief of staff to President George W. Bush.