President-elect Barack Obama will proclaim Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary and Lawrence Summers to direct the National Economic Council, to the leaders of his economic team Monday.
Once confirmed by the Senate, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, Geithner, 47, would be the top Cabinet official in charge of leading the administration's answer to the global economic crisis. Word of his likely selection Friday helped send the Dow Jones Industrials soaring 500 points after several days of steep losses.
A top Democrat said John Podesta, a leader of Obama's transition team, had informed Senate aides on Friday that Obama hoped for immediate confirmation so the new administration could get to work quickly thereafter.
Geithner (pronounced GITE-ner) served as a Treasury Department official during the Clinton administration, where he played a major role in negotiating assistance packages for South Korea and Brazil.
A former treasury secretary, Summers, 53, under President Bill Clinton and one-time president of Harvard University, will serve as Obama’s adviser from the White House. He will be responsible for coordinating the federal response to the economic meltdown across several agencies, including Obama’s plan, announced Saturday to generate or save 2.5 million jobs by rebuilding infrastructure and modernizing schools while developing alternative energy sources and more efficient cars.
During the Clinton administration, Summers helped craft the U.S. support program for Mexico during its 1995 financial crisis. He later helped lead the U.S. response to the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
Both Geithner and Summers were scheduled to appear with Obama at a press conference in Chicago Monday morning.
The announcement will be made as Obama moves quickly to fill slots for his incoming administration. On Saturday, he named longtime spokesman Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary.
The director of communications will be Ellen Moran, who is in charge of getting Obama's message out. Her deputy in the White House will be Dan Pfeiffer, the communications director for Obama's presidential transition team.
Obama is virtually certain in other positions to offer Congressional Budget Office chief Peter Orszag the job of directing the White House Office of Budget and Management, and Orszag is likely to accept, Democratic officials said Saturday.
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton also is in line to become secretary of state, while Obama's choice for attorney general is Eric Holder. He held the No. 2 slot in the Justice Department in President Bill Clinton's administration.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson had emerged as a likely pick as commerce secretary, although he had hoped to be secretary of state. Like Clinton, he was a rival of Obama's for the Democratic presidential nomination last winter. He dropped out after the early contests and threw his support behind barrack Obama. The officials revealed only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly converse the anticipated appointments.
The president-elect has largely stayed out of public view since his election on Nov. 4, preferring to work quietly with aides and Vice President-elect Joe Biden in a suite of offices in downtown Chicago.
While speculation has been extensive about most top-level appointments, there has been relatively little about Obama's choice for defense secretary. His aides encouraged assumption before the election that Robert Gates, who now holds the position, would remain in office for an interim period.
Tom Daschle of South Dakota, former Senate Majority Leader has been preferred as secretary of health and human services and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is likely to be named as secretary of the Homeland Security Department.
Napolitano was an early supporter of Barack Obama among the ranks of Democratic governors, as was Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. Sebelius has figured significantly in recent days in speculation as possible secretary of labor.
Furthermore, retired Gen. James Jones, a former Marine Corps commandant and NATO commander, was among those under consideration for national security adviser. James Steinberg, an Obama campaign aide who served in Clinton's White House, was another possibility, according to officials.
Barack Obama has constantly referred to the economic crisis as the top priority for his new administration.
Geithner held posts in the Treasury Department under three administrations and five secretaries before moving to the New York Fed in 2003. He also held positions at the International Monetary Fund and was employed at the private firm of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
