Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reportedly plans to leave office by the end of January regardless of whether a debt ceiling deal has been reached or not:
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner plans to leave the administration at the end of January, even if President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans haven’t reached an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, according to two people familiar with the matter.
After giving in to Obama’s previous entreaties to stay as long as needed, Geithner has indicated to White House officials and Wall Street executives that he is unlikely to change his departure plans this time, increasing pressure on the president to name his successor at Treasury, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the private talks.
Geithner, 51, is the only remaining member of Obama’s original economic team and was a key figure in the taxpayer- funded bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis. He’s also had a principal role in negotiations with Congress on the budget deal and in past deliberations over the debt ceiling.
White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew remains the leading contender for the Treasury job, the people said. Because Lew’s experience in financial markets is thin, Obama may seek to name a Wall Street executive as deputy Treasury secretary, they said.
Since it seems beyond the realm of any reasonable possibility that we’ll have a debt ceiling deal by the end of the month, one presumes that this means that Geithner will not be heavily involved in any debt ceiling negotiations. Although that may not matter since both sides seem to be saying they’re not going to negotiate.
