WASHINGTON — Timothy Geithner, the Treasury secretary and dean of President Barack Obama’s economic team, is expected to stay through the president’s term after intense White House pressure, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
But Geithner has not yet notified the White House of his intentions, and family considerations could still win out, advisers say. Geith ner’s wife and son moved back to New York in June so his son could complete high school there.
Speculation from Washington to Wall Street has intensified because Geithner, the only holdover at the center of Obama’s original economic circle, said a month ago that he would decide on his future after a deal was reached to increase the nation’s debt ceiling. Obama signed that deal into law Tuesday.
Obama and his chief of staff, William Daley, have been urging Geithner to stay, administration officials say, not only for continuity and to avoid a confirmation fight in the Senate over a successor but also because Obama has developed a close rapport with Geithner.
Whether the president persuades Geithner to stay will be a central development for the White House as it girds for a re-election race that will turn on the economy and the continuing battle of the budget with Republicans.
The New York Times
