Geithner Wants to Oust FDIC Chief Bair

'Independent actor' in crisis worries Obama's Treasury nominee
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2008 11:26 AM CST
Geithner Wants to Oust FDIC Chief Bair
Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner is said to see FDIC chief Sheila Bair as too focused on her own agency and not enough on the bigger economic picture.   (AP Photo)

If Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner has his way, Barack Obama will show FDIC chief Sheila Bair the door, Bloomberg reports. Geithner, who has battled Bair over emergency measures like the Citigroup rescue, says she isn’t a team player, and is concerned more with her agency than the broader economy. But Obama would be taking a big risk by asking the well-respected Bair to step down.

Bair’s efforts to rework mortgages for troubled homeowners have won over such high-ranking Democrats as Chris Dodd and Barney Frank. Bair has actually been lobbying for a bigger role in the Obama administration, banking on Obama’s promise to include Republicans. But Obama’s economic team plans to exclude her from major policy decisions even if she keeps her post. (More Sheila Bair stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X