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US
Obama picks economic team
Article published on the 2008-11-24 Latest update 2008-11-24 18:04 TU
Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary under Obama
(Credit: Reuters)
US President-elect Barack Obama formally announced New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary at his second press conference on Monday. He named former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers as his White House economic advisor and University of California, Berkeley economist Christina Romer to chair the Council of Economic Advisers group.
"While we can't underestimate the challenges that we face, we also can't underestimate our capacity to overcome them," said Obama.
He praised Geithner's international experience which will be utilized when the Obama administration reaches out to other countries in order to get the interntional financial mechanism "back on track."
With the highest jobless claims filed in 18 years, Obama has pledged to deal with the issue swiftly.
"To summon that spirit of determiniation and optimism that has always defined us, and to move forward in a new direction to create new jobs, reform our financial system and fuel long-term economic growth... we will need to bring the best minds in America to guide us," he added, as he announced his other three economic picks.
He named former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers as his White House Economic Advisor. Obama did not need Senate approval to name Summers to the post. While Obama has called for all applicants to the White House have a 'clean record,' Summers, the former head of Harvard University, resigned from the prestigious university in 2006 after he made comments that angered the institution and spurred donors to cancel their pledges.
Among other remarks, Summers claimed that there were differences in the innate abilities of men and women, especially in the fields of science and engineering.
Obama picked another economist from academia. Christina Romer, introduced as "a leading macroeconomist and leading economic historian" from University of California, Berkeley, she will chair the Council of Economic Advisers group.
"Christina is perhaps best known for her work on America's recovery from the Great Depression and the robust economic expansion that followed," said Obama, also citing her research on tax policy.
Obama's final pick of the night was the announcement of Melanie Barnes as his Director of the Domestic Policy Council.
She will work hand in hand with economic policy team and consult on healthcare reform, and will work with the secretary of Health and Human Services.
As part of Obama's economic stimulus programme, the US economy will not be balanced as the country goes deeper into debt by spending billions to try and stimulate the economy. He has already called for a plan to create or save 2.5 million jobs.
