THESYNDROME.COM » Treasury Secretary

Newsweek: Who’s watching the money?

msnbc.com: Politics — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:08:57 +0000

With the economy worsening and the Bush team adrift, queasy markets are looking to Barack Obama to set the course. But is naming a Treasury secretary enough?

Obama to name Geithner, Summers to economic posts

admin — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:19:28 +0000

President-elect Barack Obama will announce the leaders of his economic team Monday, naming Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary and Lawrence Summers to direct the National Economic Council, transition officials said. If confirmed by the Senate, Geithner, 47, president of the New York Federal Reserve, would be the top Cabinet official in charge of leading [...]

Obama’s picks for economic team confirmed

msnbc.com: Politics — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:39:11 +0000

President-elect Barack Obama plans to name Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary and Lawrence Summers to direct the National Economic Council, transition officials said.

Obama moves quickly to fill Cabinet positions

admin — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:28:44 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama has moved with unusual speed to select officials for his administration, and senior Democratic officials say he intends to name Timothy Geithner as his treasury secretary as soon as Monday....

Transition News

admin — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 02:15:05 +0000

Leaks and rumors abound on possible nominations and speculation is reaching a fever pitch. Several media outlets are reporting Timothy Geithner to be named Treasury Secretary.

Geithner played a large role in the government's efforts to wrangle the credit crisis, which has damaged markets and economies worldwide. While a number of those efforts have been controversial, Geithner remains a well-regarded figure from Wall Street to Washington.

MSNBC reports Bill Richardson is likely to be tapped for Secretary of Commerce and Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security. Although the aides leaking the news to both CNN and MSNBC cautioned neither position was a done deal.

And last but not least, according to CNN (and many other outlets) Hillary Clinton could be nominated for Secretary of State.

President-elect Obama is on track to nominate Sen. Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state after Thanksgiving, three aides on Obama's transition team told CNN Thursday.

Clinton senior adviser Philippe Reines repeated a statement that "any and all speculation about Cabinet or other administration appointments is for President-Elect Obama's transition team to address."

Talking Points Memo has an interesting take on the Clinton nomination. Hillary still owes $7.5 million to various vendors for her campaign.....$5.4 million of that is owed to Mark Penn for services rendered. While she has nearly cut her debt in half since June, all fundraising would have to end if she accepts the position.

Obama is considering Clinton for secretary of state. As a Cabinet member Clinton would face fundraising restrictions to retire her vendor debt.

A 2001 advisory opinion by the federal Office of Special Counsel said a federal employee who still had a campaign debt would be prohibited from "personally soliciting, accepting or receiving political contributions."

Clinton could name an agent from her campaign committee to continue to organize and hold fundraising events to retire the debt. Clinton would be limited to attending a fundraising event and simply stating her appreciation to donors.

In other words, if the SoS job is offered and accepted......it could be very difficult for Mark Penn to get paid. Ouch.

More community discussion on these possible nomiations can be found in Johnny Venom's diary on the rec list.

First Read: Geithner likely to be treasury secretary

admin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:04:42 +0000

NBC News has learned that the President-elect is preparing to roll out his economic team on Monday -- and will personally announce the team and answer questions -- part of an effort to reassure markets.

CQ Transcript: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Interviewed on Fox News’ ‘Journal Editorial Report’

admin — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:55:15 +0000

CQ Transcriptswire

Obama Begins Transition– Republicans Begin the Blame Game

JCMach1 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:42:35 +0000

PETER CAVE: US president-elect Barack Obama is being briefed for the first time on the key security threats facing America and he’s facing intense scrutiny over who he’ll choose to fill key staff and Cabinet posts. Fellow Illinois politician Rahm Emmanuel is the first to come on board, having just accepted the offer of becoming the [...]

The Bailout Profiteers

admin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:29:26 +0000

The Bailout Profiteers By Naomi Klein - October 31st, 2008 Editor’s note: The online version of this story has been amended to reflect developments since the publication of the print edition. On October 13th, when the U.S. Treasury Departmen...

The Bailout Profiteers

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:20:33 +0000

October 31st, 2008

Rolling Stone

Editor’s note: The online version of this story has been amended to reflect developments since the publication of the print edition.

On October 13th, when the U.S. Treasury Department announced the team of "seasoned financial veterans" that will be handling the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, one name jumped out: Reuben Jeffery III, who was initially tapped to serve as chief investment officer for the massive new program.

On the surface, Jeffery looks like a classic Bush appointment. Like Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, he's an alum of Goldman Sachs, having worked on Wall Street for 18 years. And as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2005 to 2007, he proudly advocated "flexibility" in regulation — a laissez-faire approach that failed to rein in the high-risk trading at the heart of the meltdown.

Sec. Paulson admits deregulation has failed us all

admin — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:14:27 +0000

You know things are very very bad on Wall Street when a guy like Henry Paulson — Treasury secretary, solid Republican, and former Goldman Sachs CEO — joins the crowd calling for more regulation over the financial markets. Paulson spared no one in his criticism Thursday of the excesses of deregulation that has now created the [...]