Obama Cabinet and Key White House Staff
2. Timothy Geithner (D) - Secretary of the Treasury
President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Former Director, Policy Development and Review Department, International Monetary Fund
Former Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
Nominated: November 24, 2008
Obama’s comments:
“The reality is that the economic crisis we face is no longer just an American crisis, it is a global crisis—and we will need to reach out to countries around the world to craft a global response. Tim’s extensive international experience makes him uniquely suited for this work. Growing up partly in Africa and having lived and worked throughout Asia; having served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs—one of many roles in the international arena; and having studied both Chinese and Japanese, Tim understands the language of today’s international markets in more ways than one.
“Tim has served with distinction under both Democrats and Republicans and has a long history of working comfortably, and as an honest broker, on both sides of the aisle. With stellar performances and outstanding results at every stage of his career, Tim has earned the confidence and respect of business, financial and community leaders; members of Congress; and political leaders around the world —and I know he will do so once again as America’s next Treasury Secretary, the chief economic spokesman for my Administration.”
Others’ comments:
“The President-elect chose Tim Geithner to be his Treasury Secretary because he’s the right person to help lead our economic recovery during these challenging times. He’s dedicated his career to our country and served with honor, intelligence and distinction. That service should not be tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed. He made a common mistake on his taxes, and was unaware that his part-time housekeeper’s work authorization expired for the last three months of her employment. We hope that the Senate will confirm him with strong bipartisan support so that he can begin the important work of the country,” said incoming White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
“Obama has promised to oversee what he called a ‘substantial overhaul’ of financial markets and U.S. regulatory structures.
“But some observers question whether Geithner has the right stuff for that task. After all, he was one of the nation’s top three regulators during a stretch in which the financial markets surged and then plunged, largely due to the fact that U.S. financial firms loaded up on unsuitable, risky investments—and regulators did little to stop it.
“Timothy A. Canova, professor of international economic law at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, Calif., said Geithner needs to show legislators that he is clearly independent of the companies he oversees - and that he is willing to make a break with the failed regulatory policies of the past.
“‘This whole crisis has in large part been a failure of regulation, just as much as a failure of the marketplace,’ said Canova. ‘We need to get a real conversation going about how to do this right.’”
—CNNMoney.com
Approved: January 26, 2009
Sworn in: January 26, 2009
Appointment Impact:
New head, Federal Reserve, named January 27, 2009: William C. Dudley, an executive vice president at New York Federal Reserve, has been “in charge of the bank’s operations to manage the money supply by buying and selling Treasury securities.”
“Dudley will become the Fed’s emissary to Wall Street, where he confronts huge challenges. He will be the primary regulator of the nation’s largest financial institutions, including Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase. And he will play a leading role in managing the Fed’s $2 trillion balance sheet, which has swollen as the central bank undertakes elaborate new efforts to try to restart lending throughout the economy.
“He will also be vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed body that sets monetary policy, and thus an influential voice in fulfilling the central bank’s core function of managing the money supply.
“Before coming to the New York Fed in 2007, Dudley was chief economist at Goldman Sachs.”
—WashingtonPost.com
Challenges:
“Obama’s…treasury secretary will face at least three major challenges:
• develop a more coordinated plan to resuscitate the nation’s flailing economy,
• create new regulations to oversee the financial industry working closely with Congress and
• establish new trade policies with foreign partners, especially China.”
—ABC News
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