Geithner Refuses To Say Whether He'd Be Happy With Warren Leading Consumer Agency

Geithner Refuses To Say Whether He'd Be Happy With Warren Leading Consumer Agency



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/22/geithner-refuses-to-say-w_n_655579.html

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner conspicuously stopped short of endorsing Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Thursday morning. And while he praised her for her effective advocacy on behalf of consumers, he also refused to say whether he would be happy if she got the job.

"I think she would be a very effective leader of that institution," he said.

At a breakfast meeting with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Geithner said he has not yet made his recommendation to President Obama about who should be nominated for the post.

Asked who else might be in the running, Geithner noted that his "colleagues in the White House have put out two other names." Those are Michael Barr, the assistant treasury secretary for financial institutions, and Eugene Kimmelman, who now oversees the Justice Department's antitrust division.

Both have backgrounds in consumer advocacy, but nevertheless are seen as more sympathetic to Wall Street than Warren. Geithner called them "two very well-qualified, excellent candidates as well" and added: "I've heard of others."