Obama to nominate Jack Lew to Treasury Secretary

Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew, seen here walking with President Obama on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington Monday, Feb. 14, 2011, is a leading candidate to succeed Tim Geithner as U.S. Treasury Secretary. / AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

President Obama is set to nominate Jack Lew to be the next Treasury Secretary, CBS News has confirmed. The announcement could come as early as Thursday.

Play Video

Obama to nominate Jack Lew for treasury secretary

If confirmed by the Senate, Lew would replace current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has served in the post for the entirety of the president's tenure.

Lew is Mr. Obama's current chief of staff but has served in numerous government roles. Prior to his current post, which has given him direct access to the president, the 57-year-old was the director of the Office of Management and Budget. In that position he worked closely with Congress and federal agencies to oversee the budget of the entire federal government. That is a position he also held during the Clinton administration from 1998 to 2001.

Lew would come into the position amid a sluggish economic recovery and as Washington politicians are facing more budget battles. By mid-February, Congress is likely to be embroiled in debate over spending and increasing the debt ceiling. Geithner notified Congress on December 31 that the debt limit had been reached and that he was taking "extraordinary measures" that involved rearranging the books so that immediate bills could be paid while putting others off.

A source told CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett that the White House doesn't expect a difficult confirmation process.

[knsn_for_cmn_sense]

He isnt an economist. He is a mechanic. He is right now building a blown 454 to install in the money printing press.

[JetsFan1984]

Seems they left out his resume.

[askagain]

Did the Democrats blow-it by raising income taxes on the wealthy? According to an article in today's New York Times, only 26% of the very wealthy earn their income from wages and salaries. About 74% of the very wealthy will not be affected by the income tax increase. That 74% derives its income from investments which are taxed at a much lower level. At the same time, practically all workers will see 2% less in their paychecks because the Social Security Holiday wasn't renewed. That translates to 2% less in take home pay. Good job Democrats.

[canislupus16]

For lower income families, dividend income will be taxed at 15 percent, the same as wage income. For higher income earners - you know, the ones making over $400K individuals/$450K families -the tax rate on dividend income rises from 15 percent to 23.9 percent. In one sense your comment isn't incorrect about the bulk of high end incomes. But it's incorrect to suggest there is NO impact on all high-end income.
And you're plainly out of line to blame Democrats, as if they were the sole drivers of this deal. The morons of the Republican party are the ones to blame for the outcome whereby high-end incomes were protected to the extent they were in the deal. Good job Republicans.
But if it makes you happy to live on partial facts and partial knowledge - or conveniently overlook the truth - and lay blame on the wrong party, knock yourself out.

[bobnjersey]

[At the same time, practically all workers will see 2% less in their paychecks because the Social Security Holiday wasn't renewed. That translates to 2% less in take home pay. Good job Democrats]
---------------------------------------------------
taxes should go up for everybody ... and benefits received should go down.

the 'no tax policy' is what underlies the deficit issues in this country ... w/ politicians being able to claim they lowered your taxes ... all while voting for proposals that feed their constituents w/ loads of unnecessary spending ... with the difference covered w/ borrowed dollars.

when each proposal has an appropriate revenue model (taxes) associated with it ... the decisions about what proposals should pass and which should not will actually be made rationally.

as it is now ... spending money and lowering taxes is a win-win for all the elected yahoos ... and the american economy and those it most affects the losers.

[modeloman]

blockhead right wing comments from cartoon characters who have nothing of value to say and will always be blindly opposed to anythig and everything
They are a complete embarrasment to America and would be to any other country with the exception of their behavioral brothers in fundamentalist islamic nations.

[askagain]

How do you think Republicans would view you? Not well in all likelihood. Almost half of those who voted backed Romney. Although Obama won, a lot of people don't like the way Democrats rule.

[modeloman]

blockhead right wing comments from cartoon characters who have nothing of value to say and will always be blindly opposed to anythig and everything
They are a complete embarrasment to America and would be to any other country with the exception of their behavioral brothers in fundamentalist islamic nations.

[OldTimeTruth]

Lets go GOP. Lets hear all the garbage on this one. LOL

[JetsFan1984]

No problem with the time at Citigroup???

[Ben37221]

just wait for Linzey Graham to come up with an excuse why he need to be an obstructionist. As usual, the rest of the crazy republicans will follow.

[thechooch1]

It really doesn't matter if Mr Lew is qualified or not, the republicans will drag their heels and scream and squawk. Maybe they can even drag up something more than a dozen years old?

[thechooch1]

Communistic quite the childish post. Just because one calls a spade a spade doesn't make them want something free or someone "elses" (sic) money. No thank you, doing quite well and paying my fair share.