Building a cabinet
THE OBAMA TRANSITION | With Timothy Geithner all but announced as the next treasury secretary, another major piece is in place in President-elect Obama's inner circle. Now all eyes turn to Hillary Clinton's probable nomination as secretary of state
Word that President-elect Barack Obama has settled on New York Fed chief Timothy Geithner as his treasury secretary was enough to send Wall Street rallying Friday.
The markets had been going down until the word began to leak out Friday afternoon that Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, would be announced Monday as Obama's choice. The stock market began to soar, up nearly 500 points, to close above 8,000 again.
(AP photos)
PHOTO GALLERY
Obama at Manny's
The New York Times and Politico.com also reported Friday that Sen. Hillary Clinton had decided to accept Obama's offer to be secretary of state.
"We're still in discussions, which are very much on track," Clinton spokesman Phillippe Reines said. "Any reports beyond that are premature."
The leaks -- none officially confirmed by the Obama campaign -- have Obama also naming other members of his financial team, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary and Geithner's runners-up -- Lawrence Summers and Paul Volcker --as economic advisers.
Geithner, 47, held posts in the Treasury Department under three administrations and five secretaries before moving to the New York Fed in 2003. He also held positions at the International Monetary Fund and was employed at the firm of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
In his post in New York, he has played a key role in the government's response to the financial crisis and has worked closely with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve. Summers was treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and Volcker was Fed chief.
Other Cabinet positions leaked in recent days include Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security chief. None of those has been officially confirmed by the Obama transition team. All have submitted to a rigorous vetting.
In Hillary Clinton's case, that includes an examination of all of her husband's financial deals since he left the White House.
The only public statements Obama made Friday: that he chose the corned beef sandwich at Manny's deli for lunch; his videotaped pitch for Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid to International Olympic Committee officials meeting in Turkey, and an announcement of the following lower-level appointments: Patrick Gaspard, political director; Jackie Norris, chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama; Catherine M. Russell, chief of staff for Dr. Jill Biden; Cynthia Hogan, counsel to the vice president, and Moises (Moe) V. Vela Jr., director of administration for the office of the vice president.
Contributing: AP