Posted by Mark Silva at 8:53 am CDT
President Bush today nominated a new treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., chairman of the Wall Street investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs Group.
The replacement of outgoing Treasury Secretary John Snow, announced in a brief Rose Garden ceremony this morning, completes one of the longest-expected turnovers in Washington.
Snow's departure was long-predicted, with critics faulting him for a lack of aggressiveness in pressing for the continuation of Bush's first-term tax cuts.
In addition, the White House has been frustrated by its inability to focus the American public's attention on the many signs of a rebounding economy, and looks to a forceful Treasury Secretary as someone who can help make the case that the 5-percent-plus growth of the economy in the first quarter of this year and 4.7 percent rate of unemployment are signs that Bush's tax cuts are working.
"The American economy is powerful, productive and prosperous," Bush said today, with Snow standing to his right and Paulson to his left in a brief, sunbaked annoucement outside the Oval Office.
Snow's replacement has been expected since Bush overhauled half of his Cabinet at the start of his second term. Snow has served for three and a half years.
Yet Bush had hailed Snow for his work at Treasury last week at a bill-signing ceremony for the continuation of the president's tax cuts on investment income attended by most of the Republican leaders of Congress on the South Lawn of the White House. And Bush gave Snow an honorable sendoff today.
Snow also sounded the White House theme, crediting the president for cutting taxes "at a critical time" and maintaining that "those policies rest at the heart of the reocvery we are now enjoying."
With Paulson, whom Bush is asking the Senate to confirm as the nation's 74th Treasury Secretary, the president has tapped a career finance executive. Paulson was raised in Illinois and educated at Dartmouth and holds an MBA from Harvard. He has worked at Goldman Sachs since 1974, the last eight years as chairman and CEO.
"I have witnessed and participated in the globalization of finances," Paulson said.
Paulson, whom Bush introduced today as "Hank,'' also is well-known to the White House.
Josh Bolten, the president's new chief of staff, had worked for Goldman Sachs in Europe and had an opportunity to serve as an assistant to the chairman when he instead took a job as policy adviser to the 2000 Bush campaign. Bolten became Bush's budget director and now chief of staff.
Snow advised Bush "earlier in the year" that he was interested in stepping down, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today, and Bolten "ran point" on the quest for a new secretary.
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Comments
Here's a guy who has taken a $30,000,000.00 (zeroes included for impact) pay cut and has been assured that he has a real job in controlling government spending, etc, yet with only 2+ years left in this administration which has notoriously bad relations with Capitol Hill (and with the rest of us). He's knows the real world outside the beltway, is a major supporter of environmental causes...how long before he's burnt out in frustration and disallusion?
By the way Bruce, he's given to Dems to get them re-elected. Is he an "operative?"
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | May 30, 2006 4:06 PM
It is of course interesting, and perhaps typical, that the reporter was either unaware that Paulson had contributed bigtime to Democrats, or that the reporter was aware but didn't bother to report it. As has been often said, if one is looking for information on politics, "The Swamp" isn't the place to look for it.
Posted by: Bruce | May 30, 2006 4:27 PM
Bruce,
... or perhaps it wasn't newsworthy except among the deeply distured.
Buy a clue.
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | May 30, 2006 5:46 PM