WASHINGTON — Herb Allison, head of the government’s $700 billion financial-bailout program, announced Wednesday that he would resign. He is the latest in a series of departures from President Barack Obama’s economic team.
Allison, head of the bailout program since April 2009, said in a letter to colleagues at the Treasury Department that they had accomplished a great deal and helped to stabilize the financial system.
Allison will be succeeded by Tim Massad, 54, who becomes acting assistant Treasury secretary for financial stability while the administration looks for a permanent successor.
The administration’s economic team has been under fire from Republicans in Congress and many voters. The move came a day after Lawrence Summers, the president’s top economist, announced he will leave at the end of the year. Budget director Peter Orszag and Council of Economic Advisers head Christina Romer departed in recent weeks. The Associated Press
