President Barack Obama approached former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, according to a report Thursday in The New York Times.
Geithner was the early favorite to succeed current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, insiders told the Times, but he declined when the White House asked if he would be interested in the job.
Obama is said to be considering three candidates for the job: Janet L. Yellen, the vice chairwoman at the Federal Reserve, former Fed vice chairman Donald L. Kohn and Obama’s former economic adviser Larry Summers.
Many Democrats have mounted opposition to a nomination of Summers. In a closed-door meeting with Hill Democrats earlier this week, Obama reportedly gave a “full-throated defense” of Summers. Some Senate Democrats sent a letter last week to Obama urging him to tap Yellen for the post.
