Obama's New Money Man

President Obama's Treasury Secretary pick Jack Lew will face fiscal fights and budget battles as part of his new economic team.

Published

4 months ago

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US

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United States, US Politics

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Barack Obama, Jack Lew

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United States of America

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treasury secretary

Transcript

President Obama used his press conference officially nominating Jack Lew as Treasury Secretary to answer critics. SOUNDBITE: U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (ENGLISH) SAYING: "Under President Clinton, he presided over three budget surpluses in a row. So for all the talk out there about deficit reduction, making sure our books are balanced, this is the guy who did it- 3 times." But Lew's got a lot of tricky economic issues to deal with: including fiscal fights with Congress over the U.S. deficit. Though he worked briefly at Citigroup, some on Wall Street have been concerned about his lack of street experience. Qorvis' Stan Collender says that's tough luck: SOUNDBITE: STAN COLLENDER, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS, QORVIS (ENGLISH) SAYING: Wall Street might not like this pick. It's not one of them. On the other hand they don't have any choice. This will be the - Jack will be the Treasury Secretary and Wall Street is going to have to deal with him. He is going to be the chief policy maker on Wall Street for the White House." What is important is that he is a budget guy, having served as budget director for both Obama and Clinton. Reuters Mark Felsenthal: SOUNDBITE: MARK FELSENTHAL, REUTERS REPORTER (ENGLISH) SAYING: "Jack Lew is someone who knows the federal budget inside and out. He has been a Capitol Hill staffer, negotiating with a Republican President. He has been a budget director for two Democratic Presidents. Also, the President trusts this guy implicitly and knows that he believes in the principals behind the budget." And he has the right people skills to deal with politics both at home and abroad: SOUNDBITE: STAN COLLENDER, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS, QORVIS (ENGLISH) SAYING: "I mean Treasury Secretary is as much an ambassador now as it is anything else. You have to represent the administration on Capitol Hill on economics. You have to represent the United States with foreign economic policy makers. Jack is good at that. That's what he is really known for, is being able to talk to people and make things happen." No date has been set, but he is expected to be confirmed in time to deal with the upcoming debt ceiling battle.