After Obama announced plans for an aggressive, two-year economic stimulus package, President-elect Barack Obama has selected the A Class Economic team that will help him to “do what’s necessary” to fix the economy.
“Vice President-elect Biden and I have assembled an economic team with the vision and expertise to stabilize our economy, create jobs, and get America back on track. Even as we face great economic challenges, we know that great opportunity is at hand — if we act swiftly and boldly. That’s the mission our economic team will take on,” said President-elect Obama.
The economic team members announced today are listed below:
Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Obama has chosen New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner — who rose to prominence earlier this year as a key official in shaping the US government’s financial rescue measures — to be Secretary of the Treasury.
Geithner played a pivotal role in the intense negotiations which took place before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, and also helped forge the deals involving AIG and JP Morgan. He regularly speaks about the need for major reforms in the financial system in order to avoid further turbulence. Before joining the Federal Reserve of New York, he worked for the International Monetary Fund. He was also the Treasury’s under-secretary for international affairs, from 1999 to 2001.
As the nation’s top financial authority, Geithner will inherit oversight of the Bush administration’s $700 billion bailout for Wall Street and a U.S. economy struggling with recession.
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Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the National Economic Council
Obama will name Lawrence Summers Director of the National Economic Council. Summers, an economist and former president of Harvard University, was Treasury secretary for the final year and a half of President Clinton’s administration. He is leading the effort to draft a massive economic stimulus plan that Obama plans to sign into law as one of his first acts as president.
Bill Richardson, Secretary of Commerce
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, an Energy secretary under Bill Clinton, has been selected for secretary of the Commerce Department. Richardson is a former congressman from New Mexico and was also a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration. Richardson also ran for the Democratic nomination for president, but dropped out after showing poorly in early contests.
Christina D. Romer, Director of the Council of Economic Advisors
Christina Romer is the Class of 1957 Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has taught and researched since 1988. Romer is co-director of the Program in Monetary Economics at the National Bureau of Economic Research and has been a visiting scholar at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Melody C. Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Melody Barnes is co-director of the Agency Review Working Group for the Obama-Biden Transition Team, and served as the Senior Domestic Policy Advisor to Obama for America.
Heather A. Higginbottom, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Heather Higginbottom served as Policy Director for Obama for America, overseeing all aspects of policy development. From 1999 to 2007, Higginbottom served as Senator John Kerry’s Legislative Director.
(Image Credit: Bloomberg)
