At Treasury, Big White House Role – WSJ.com
After Early Snafus, Emanuel Helps Geithner With Policies; ‘Rahm Wants It’By DEBORAH SOLOMON, JONATHAN WEISMAN and LAURA MECKLER
WASHINGTON — On Jan. 20, Timothy Geithner took control of the Treasury Department, directing the government’s response to the financial crisis.
Within three weeks, the White House tightened its grip, alarmed by the poor reaction to Mr. Geithner’s performance during the rollout of his rescue plan, government officials say. Since then, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been so involved in the workings of the Treasury that “Rahm wants it” has become an unofficial mantra among some at the Treasury, according to government officials.
[At Treasury, Big White House Role] Getty ImagesTreasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, right, with other members of the White House auto task force, arrives Thursday for the White House news conference about Chrysler’s bankruptcy.
The White House involvement is welcomed by some officials at the Treasury, including Mr. Geithner, given that the department is short-staffed and not always attuned to the politics of the hour. But the White House also has pushed to announce programs before details were ready. Other times, the department has been left waiting for White House input — even on such mundane matters as Web-site design.
Still, in a little more than three months, Mr. Geithner and the White House together have crafted complex programs to combat the financial crisis.
Mr. Geithner said White House involvement is critical to the success of the financial rescue, in part because the popular president can help sell the plan to the public. “I made a judgment…that to do this right, we had to have a fully integrated approach,” Mr. Geithner said in an interview. “The president’s capacity to lay out for the nation and the world a path through this crisis is as essential as everything we’re going to do.”
At Treasury, Big White House Role – WSJ.com.
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