Questions raised on Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner
Obama's press aide says concerns about his taxes and an immigrant housekeeper are minor. Senators question Hillary Clinton on possible conflicts. Hearings for other Cabinet choices go smoothly.
The nomination of Timothy Geithner to be secretary of the Treasury ran into a speed bump today, amid reports that he failed to pay some personal taxes and questions about the immigration status of a housekeeper.
Geithner, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for later this week, met with senators who will decide his nomination.
The transition team of President-elect Barack Obama strongly backed Geithner.
"The President-elect chose Tim Geithner to be his Treasury secretary because he's the right person to help lead our economic recovery during these challenging times," said incoming White House press secretary Robert Gibbs in an e-mail statement.
"He's dedicated his career to our country and served with honor, intelligence and distinction. That service should not be tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed. He made a common mistake on his taxes, and was unaware that his part-time housekeeper's work authorization expired for the last three months of her employment. We hope that the Senate will confirm him with strong bipartisan support so that he can begin the important work of the country," Gibbs stated.
Although most of the attention today focused on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's testimony to become secretary of State, Senate committees also held hearings on three other appointments as the process of building a government slowly moved forward.
Steven Chu, the nominee for Energy secretary, and Arne Duncan, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of Education, also testified today, as did Housing and Urban Development nominee Shaun DonovanThe Senate is hoping to better its 2001 effort when it approved seven Cabinet chiefs before George Bush was sworn in for his first term. Obama will be inaugurated next week.
So far, hearings have been held on at least five nominees with no controversy.
Last week, Tom Daschle, Health secretary nominee, and Hilda Solis, Labor nominee, testified as expected. Daschle, a former senator and majority leader, faced cordial questioning on health policy issues though he will be back to testify again. Solis, a Los Angeles congresswoman, was questioned about her support for organized labor, which raised some questions for Republicans but not enough to hurt her chances in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
