An article in Politico reports that Larry Summers is no longer under consideration for the Secretary of the Treasury post, due to pressure from women's groups and other groups in opposition to Summers' potential contributions to the present financial crisis.
Here's more from the article below:
The women’s opposition to a possible Summers’ appointment was the explanation some Democratic sources are hearing for why the Obama transition team has crossed Summers off their list. The Obama team doesn’t want to kick off its administration with a controversy nor go head-to-head with an important constituency when there are other qualified candidates, political operatives speculate.
Reports that Summers is no longer in the running are widespread, but not everyone agrees that his problems with women have sealed his fate.
Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, said there are other reasons to oppose Summers, citing his involvement in Clinton-era policies that many say contributed to the current economic woes.
The potential picks for the Secretary of the Treasury post now are:
- New York Federal Reserve Chairman Timothy Geithner
- Former Secretary of the Treasury Paul Volcker
- New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine
- Chairwoman Sheila Bair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin
I'm leaning towards Chairwoman Sheila Bair, mainly due to this story by Kossack StevenD, in which she is proposing to use $25 Billion of the $700 Billion TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Fund, for short) to prevent millions of foreclosures by offering incentives to banks to lower mortgage payments for homeowners.