Thursday, November 19, 2009

Facing criticism from the left and the right, embattled Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today refused to resign during a heated exchange at Thursday’s Joint Economic Committee hearing with ranking Republican Kevin Brady, who suggested that Geithner had “failed” and should reconsider his job.

In recent weeks, Geithner has come under fire from liberals and conservatives over his leadership. A number of lawmakers have questioned whether the Treasury’s recovery efforts have prioritized Wall Street at “Main Street’s” expense.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) told MSNBC on Wednesday:

“A growing consensus in the caucus believe that Geithner should be removed.”

However, Geithner bristled at any suggestion he should resign and blamed former President George W. Bush’s leadership for the country’s financial woes, saying:

“I agree with almost nothing of what you said. Again, it’s just a basic fact: A year ago, this economy was falling at the rate of 6 percent a year. We were losing between half a million and three-quarters of a million jobs a month.”

But with Congressional confidence in Geithner in the gutter, many wonder how much longer President Obama will allow Geithner to remain at Treasury until he does what seems to be the inevitable and ask for his resignation?

It’s not enough to save Wall Street if it doesn’t include accountability for the huge sums of money the taxpayers were forced to payout back in September, 2008. The American people are patient but we’re not fools. Unfortunately, Tim Geithner doesn’t understand this.