HONOLULU — Change is soon coming to the White House economic team, with President Barack Obama set to announce a new top adviser with broad influence over the administration’s efforts to jump-start the struggling economy.
Obama is expected to announce a replacement for departing National Economic Council director Lawrence Summers early in the new year, soon after the president returns to Washington from his Hawaiian vacation. Obama’s choice is being closely watched for signs of where he wants to take his economic agenda.
Will he tap the business world with a figure such as Roger Altman, an investment banker and Clinton administration alumnus who might carry too much baggage from his association with Wall Street? Will he turn to academia instead, calling on a scholar such Yale president Richard Levin? Or will he go with a deeply experienced insider such as deficit hawk Gene Sperling at the Treasury Department or Jason Furman, the council’s deputy director?
The selection process for the council post has dragged on for months. Summers announced his resignation in September, and many in the administration knew well before then that he planned to return to Harvard University after serving two years at the White House.
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said he expects Obama to announce his pick in early January and blamed any delay on his focus on the frenzied lame-duck legislative session.
The administration believes the relationship between Obama and the business community has started to thaw. For example, both sides praised each other after Obama’s meeting with chief executives this month. The White House has grown more willing to find another prominent job for a private-sector appointee while leaving the council post to an economic heavyweight who can coordinate the advice Obama is receiving from throughout the administration.
“To get a businessperson in there, it seems like an odd place,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “And if he does need someone from business, I don’t think he would want someone from Wall Street.”
Possible candidates
Here are some names considered would-be replacements for National Economic Council director Lawrence Summers.
Roger Altman
Former Clinton adviser
Jason Furman
Council deputy director
Richard Levin
Yale University president
Gene Sperling
Treasury counselor
