It looks like President Obama is about to have another Cabinet position to fill. Sources tell both Bloomberg and Politico that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to step down from his post at the end of this month.
The timing makes it likely that he won’t be around for the next fight over raising the debt ceiling—assuming, of course, Geithner follows through with his plans this time around. Geithner was reportedly telling friends and colleague of his desire to leave the administration as far back as the summer of 2011 when Washington was in the middle of its last fight over the debt ceiling. Ultimately, however, he stuck around at the president’s urging but later suggested he’d be out the door shortly after Obama’s second term kicked off.
Those close to Geithner say he intends to follow through with that plan this time, even with a series of fiscal fights looming on the horizon. Bloomberg:
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.
The most likely man to replace Geithner appears to be White House chief of staff Jack Lew. Although if Lew does get the job, Bloomberg reports that the president may name a Wall Street exec as deputy secretary to compensate for Lew’s relatively thin resume dealing with financial markets.
