Geithner might quit after debt deal: reports

Timothy Geithner might leave his job after deal on debt
© AFP/File Tim Sloan

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner might leave his job after the White House reaches a deal with Congress over raising the US debt ceiling, US media reported Thursday.

But Geithner fudged when asked about the reports, saying he would stick to the job “for the foreseeable future.”

“I’ve only worked in public service. I live for this work, it’s the only thing I’ve ever done, I believe in it,” Geithner told former president Bill Clinton in a webcast Chicago seminar on jobs and the economy.

“We have a lot of challenges in the country. I’m going to be doing it for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Geithner, one of the stalwarts of President Barack Obama’s administration and a key architect of its policies during the economic crisis, has not reached a final decision on leaving, the agency said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the issue.

Geithner “has signaled to White House officials that he’s considering leaving the administration,” Bloomberg reported.

Other media made similar reports, but none had any more specific information.

They said resignation would only come if and when a deal on hiking the $14.29 trillion debt cap happens, according to the report.

Obama and Geithner have both warned Republican opponents in Congress to raise the limit before August 2 to avert a default on US debt that could rock both the domestic economy and the global financial system.

White House officials offered no immediate comment on the report.

Geithner’s departure, if it happens, would follow the already-announced departure of top White House economic advisor Austan Goolsbee.

Goolsbee is scheduled to leave in August.

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