Geithner Resignation Calls May Increase as 2010 Election Nears
November 20, 2009
Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, as part of a grilling on Capitol Hill yesterday, was asked by a Republican lawmaker to resign. It is a call he is likely to hear again and again as next year’s election campaign heats up.
Earlier in the week, a Republican challenger for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut had demanded Geithner quit, lambasting him for being “cozy” with banks bailed out by the federal government. Two other Republicans have requested hearings into Geithner’s handling of the bailout of insurer American International Group Inc.
“Conservatives need a bad guy,” said pollster John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International in Utica, New York. “Who better than the Treasury secretary?”
While Democrats have generally defended Geithner’s handling of the economy and the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, some are beginning to blame President Barack Obama’s administration for not doing enough to help Main Street voters. Geithner, who before his Treasury post was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, also is becoming a target for those critics.
Earlier this week, Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon told MSNBC that Geithner needed to go.
Yesterday, Republican Representative Kevin Brady of Texas told Geithner bipartisan dissatisfaction with him was growing.
“Conservatives agree, liberal Democrats agree, that it really is time for a fresh start,” Brady said at a hearing of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee.
‘Lost All Confidence’
“For the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post?” asked Brady, who first won his seat in 1996. “The public has lost all confidence in your ability to the do the job, and it is reflecting on your president.”
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